Expanding Coordinate Measuring Capacity

作为尼亚加拉地区领先的技术高等教育机构，尼亚加拉学院很好地定位为制造业创新的催化剂。制造业是对尼亚加拉地区国内生产总值（GDP）贡献最大的行业之一，2012年超过21.4亿美元；该地区16%的GDP来自于制造商的产出。长期以来，尼亚加拉学院一直是制造业和工业设计领域的重要组成部分，提供训练有素的高级技术人员和技术人员，以支持各种行业所需的设计工程工作。制造业中的许多人依靠尼亚加拉学院在尼亚加拉的工业创新中心（IIC@N）不断投资于工具和技术，以支持他们的应用研究和创新需求，并提供专业的技术援助。由于这种协同作用，并基于对该地区800多家制造商的两次主要调查，IIC@N及其合作者都确定了扩大三坐标测量机（cmm）及其支持软件范围的需求和必要性。随着新的便携式三坐标测量机和将三维（3D）扫描数据转换为计算机辅助设计（CAD）数据库的软件的增加，IIC@N将能够通过执行：基于CAD的大型部件检测，机器校准和对准，尺寸分析，工具构建和设置以及机器人校准来进一步支持其行业合作伙伴。增加IIC@N在3D扫描和3D软件方面的能力，将进一步增强其作为工业合作伙伴的地位，并将帮助它提供产品和可持续的解决方案，以帮助加强和支持我们的地区经济。

As the leading technical post-secondary institution in the Niagara Region, Niagara College is well positioned to be a catalyst of manufacturing innovation. Manufacturing is one of the largest sectors contributing to Niagara Region's gross domestic product (GDP), in excess of $2.14 billion in 2012; 16% of the region's GDP is derived through the output of manufacturers. Niagara College has long been a vital component of the manufacturing and industrial design landscape, providing superior trained technicians and technologists to support the design engineering efforts required across a wide variety of industries. Many within the manufacturing community depend on Niagara College's Industry Innovation Centre at Niagara (IIC@N) to continually invest in the tools and technology to support their applied research and innovation needs and provide specialized technical assistance. As a result of this synergy and based on two major surveys of the Region's more than 800 manufacturers, both IIC@N and its collaborators have identified the need and necessity to expand the range of coordinate measurement machines (CMMs) and their supporting software. With the addition of a new portable CMM and software to transform three-dimensional (3D) scanned data into computer-aided design (CAD) databases, IIC@N will be able to further support its industry partners by performing: CAD-based large-part inspections, machine calibrations and alignments, dimensional analysis, tool building and setup, and robot calibrations. Increasing IIC@N's capacity in 3D scanning and 3D software further enhances its position as a favoured partner for industry and will help it provide products and sustainable solutions to help strengthen and support our regional economy.