Enhanced Characterization and Design Equipment in Support of Regional Advanced Manufacturing Industries

萨尼亚-兰布顿是安大略省第三大制造业，其石化和炼油集群的经济产出(2014年)为240亿美元。这一集群一直是许多专门从事制造、工程和环境服务的中小型企业(SME)建立的主要来源。然而，在过去的二十年里，这些大公司发起的制造项目一直在下降和停滞不前。有几项举措解决了这一问题--经济多元化、建立创新型公司和建立产业集群。*2013年，兰顿学院成立了蓝水技术中心(BTAC)，这是一个先进制造中心，为新公司、现有中小企业和大型制造业提供制造业应用研究、技术服务和专业培训活动。自成立以来，BTAC非常成功，吸引了357家公司(301家中小企业)，并提供了85个应用研究项目和389项技术服务。BTAC一直很受欢迎，而且还在继续增长；然而，基础设施方面的差距限制了BTAC有效执行现有项目和建立新项目的能力。最大的限制涉及制造设备。本提案所列所需设备旨在通过增加和更新补充现有基础设施的应用研究设备来填补这一基础设施缺口。最初，申请的设备最初将由八(8)家当地和地区公司使用，并将由兰布顿学院的研究人员通过蓝水技术接入中心使用。*

Sarnia-Lambton is the third largest manufacturing sector in Ontario with $24 billion economic output (2014) from its petrochemical and refining cluster. This cluster has been the major source behind the establishment of many small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) specializing in fabrication, engineering and environmental services. However, over the last twenty years there has been a decline and stagnation in manufacturing projects initiated by these large companies. Several initiatives have addressed this problem - economic diversification, building innovative companies, and establishment of industry clusters. ****In 2013, Lambton College established the Bluewater Technology Centre (BTAC), an Advanced Manufacturing Centre, to provide manufacturing applied research, technical services and specialized training activities to new companies, existing SMEs, and large manufacturing industries. Since its establishment, BTAC has been very successful, engaging 357 companies (301 SMEs) and providing 85 applied research projects and 389 technical services. BTAC has been very well received and continues to grow; however, there are infrastructure gaps that limit BTAC's ability to effectively carry out current projects and establish new ones. The biggest limitation involves manufacturing equipment. The requested equipment listed in this proposal, aims to fill this infrastructure gap by adding and updating equipment for applied research that is complimentary to the existing infrastructure. Initially, the requested equipment will be initially utilized by eight (8) local and regional companies and will be used by Lambton College researchers through the Bluewater Technology Access Centre.****