Design Engineering Case Studies
Return of the Airship
All-in-One Automation
Digital Edition
Canadian firm pursues mechanical approach to fusion energy
Aiming to create the first net gain reactor, General Fusion's design leverages steam-driven pneumatics in quest for the Holy Grail of energy production.
Fixing Canada’s innovation track record
Canada has strong fundamentals but is hampered by funding and tech transfer policies.
Engineers Wanted
Engineers Canada report points to shortage of experienced engineers in current and coming labour market.
We have the Technology…
Ryerson bio-engineering duo’s brain-controlled bionic arm may not give amputees super-human strength but could restore nearly all natural function one day soon.
Case Studies
How to Design a Hyper-Efficient Car
Université Laval’s Team Alerion Supermileage soars above the collegiate engineering competition with a radical vehicle capable of better than 3,000 miles per gallon.
Identity of Canadian WWI soldier discovered using 3D printing
After nearly a century, Calgary’s Private Thomas Lawless laid to rest last week in France.
Funding Innovation
Top 5 sources of product development funding and support for Canadian innovators.
An EV Goes Sea to Sea
Electrified VW Beetle travels coast to coast in 14 days with only minor snags.
Sic Transit
Altair Engineering software and design talents craft the next generation of fuel efficient transit buses.
Look to the Skies
Bill Lishman, also know as ‘Father Goose,’ will always be associated with ultralight planes. He rose to prominence in 1988 for guiding birds such as Canada Geese and Whooping Crane by air on safe migration routes – a venture called ‘Operation Migration.’ Now, Lishman is using his passion for the ultralight to turn it into ...
Whale of an Idea
Until it was replaced by petroleum in the late 1800s, whale oil was harvested in the millions of gallons for lamp fuel, to make candles and lubricate industrial machines. A century later, a Toronto-based company is again looking to the whale to not only generate energy but also conserve it. This time, however, the whale’s ...
Beyond Autoparts
As the Chatham / Kent region of southern Ontario emerges from the economic downturn, many local manufacturers are facing a big challenge and a big opportunity—unused capacity. On the upside, these manufacturers are highly skilled and practiced at addressing the rigorous demands of their customers (primarily OEM part and assembly suppliers to tier-one automotive manufacturers). ...
Scouting out the situation
“The Scout is targeted at the backpack of every soldier and the trunk of every police car, but the number of uses is really endless,” says Dave Kroetsch, president of Waterloo, Ontario-based Aeryon Labs. “We knew that in today’s fast-paced world, access to high quality aerial intelligence would continue to become more and more critical, ...
Terrafugia’s “Flying Car” to launch next year
Hailed as the first commercial flying car, Terrafugia’s Transition morphs from road worthy car to small plane and back in 30 seconds. Since the rise of popular science fiction literature, visions of the future have commonly included flying cars. If you’re tired of waiting, you’re in luck. Next year, Massachusetts-based start-up Terrafugia is scheduled to ...
Catching some rays
Not many of us are able to catch some rays while at work, but for Mario Leclerc, that’s the goal. As Director of the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Research Center of Université Laval and the Quebec Centre on Functional Materials, Leclerc is continuing to build on a major contribution he’s already made in boosting the ...
Garbage In, Energy Out
PlascoEnergy’s future commercial facilities, such as this one designed by Canadian architect Douglas Cardinal and proposed to the City of Los Angeles, will process 200 tonnes of municipal waste per day and generate approximately 11 MW of electricity. Article first appeared in May 2008 issue of Design Engineering When an announcement comes thatthere’s trash talk ...
Where Science Hits the Road
No matter how far computer-based analysis may advance, there’s no substitute for real world product testing. Fact is, there’s no way to anticipate and virtually simulate all the circumstances that may cause a mechanical/electrical system to perform to spec in dry Arizona heat yet fail in the cold and damp of a Manitoba winter. However, ...
The physics of the 2010 World Cup
As the World Cup finals kick off, the most talked about and controversial figure in the game isn’t a player but Jabulani, the new Adidas World Cup soccer ball (the name means “to celebrate” in isiZulu). Designed by researchers from Loughborough University, United Kingdom, the ball has drawn considerable criticism from players. Goalies in particular ...
Icy Control
In March 2010, BC-based ISE’s Project Cornerstone robotic sub submerged beneath the polar ice cap to map the sea floor in support of Canada’s territorial claim to the arctic. The sub’s Automatic Control Engine software allows it to follow a pre-programmed route and return to base without direct control. If you felt a surge of ...
iPad Dissected
Chipworks, an Ottawa-based reverse engineering and patent infringement analysis firm, announced its findings that Apple has followed the same approach that it perfected with its iPod and iPhone development by using conservative, lower cost technology, and focusing its efforts on design and usability. Essentially, the iPad’s very small board makes it a large iPod rather ...