Canada invests $1.9M in new equipment at SFU advanced manufacturing centre

November 14, 2018 – Simon Fraser University has received a $1.9 million investment from the federal government to add new equipment to its advanced manufacturing centre in Burnaby, B.C.

The university’s 4D LABS has received an investment of $1,921,700 to equip the new Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Integration (CAMI) with state-of-the-art machinery to help prototype and manufacture advanced micro and nanotechnologies.

The equipment will help commercialize innovative micro and nanotechnology solutions. The sectors that will benefit from this technology include information and communication technology, energy, healthcare, transportation and security.

4D LABS is a shared-equipment resource with state-of-the-art fabrication and characterization facilities and equipment that can be used by academic, industrial and government researchers.
It employs technical staff to provide users with training and fee-for-hire services in nanofabrication, nano-imaging and LASIR (Laboratory for Advanced Spectroscopy and Imaging Research). It specializes in the clean energy, information technology, health care, agriculture and environment sectors.

The funding was announced by Terry Beech, parliamentary secretary to the minister of transport and member of parliament for Burnaby North – Seymour, on behalf of Navdeep Bains, minister of innovation, science and economic development and the minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD).

“As markets evolve, Canada needs to remain competitive on the global stage,” says Bains. “Supporting 4D LABS and the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Integration ensures that researchers and manufacturers have access to the tools they need to succeed in their work. Projects like this increase productivity and innovation, supporting the continued growth and vitality of Western Canada.”

Behraad Bahreyni, professor of mechatronic systems engineering at Simon Fraser University, says, “This funding from WD will provide academic researchers as well as local industry access to state-of-the-art tools for the manufacturing of devices at the micro- and nano-scales for a wide range of applications.”