Rapid Prototyping Methods for Precision Glass Components

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The inspiring abundance of novel manufacturing technologies has created new opportunities to solve old problems and address areas of unmet need. An area of particular interest is developing low-cost rapid prototyping platforms for glass to test efficiency and feasibility of numbering-up systems. Scaling-up is the approach that industry applies today for sizing-up devices developed in the lab. This approach is problematic in some fields such as for the chemical industry since the physical phenomena governing the device operation might change and become unstable at a larger scale (like for micro-batteries). To maintain the device functionality, numbering-up strategy is promising especially for small-scale devices. This strategy implies connecting identical devices of the same size to create a system with increased throughput. ******My research program aims to develop innovative rapid prototyping techniques for glass that are low-cost, flexible and precise. Such techniques will be able to machine glass and build multi-material structures on the machined surface, hence tailoring the surface properties to fit the need of the application. Furthermore, incorporating a different type of material into the glass surface would lead to creating surface glass-matrix composites which are important for chemical, optoelectronics and semiconductor applications. In the short-term, I aim to translate an electrochemical machining process called Spark Assisted Chemical Engraving to a rapid prototyping technique through:***1) Developing methods for adjusting in a controlled way the surface properties of machined structures by micro-particles incorporation ***2) Developing algorithms that allow accelerated precision cutting and machining of high-aspect ratio structures under reduced axial and lateral machining forces***3) Developing methods for controlling the surface topography including the texture and roughness******Canada's manufacturing sector represents more than 10 percent of the country's total GDP and manufacturers export more than $354 billion each year which is 68 per cent of all of Canada's merchandise exports. The proposed research directly contributes to developing novel precision manufacturing techniques for glass and glass-matrix composites. It will therefore help in advancing the knowledge in the precision manufacturing field. The generated knowledge will be transferred to the research community and practitioners. It will be applied in different industries to create for example light pipes, lab-on-a-chip devices, and magneto-optical switches. The research will train highly qualified manufacturing professionals (students) and equip them with the knowledge and the skill set required for future manufacturing engineers. This will spur growth and competitiveness in the Canadian manufacturing industry.***