The University of New Brunswick is launching a research centre dedicated to 3D metal printing for the marine and defence industries.
The Marine Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton will focus on research, commercialization, and workforce development and training. This initiative is the result of a partnership with the University of New Brunswick, Custom Fabricators and Machinists (CFM), and community colleges in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
The centre will use 3D metal printing as a method for manufacturing certified, custom parts for the marine sector, with the goal of driving mainstream adoption of the technology. UNB also hopes to make New Brunswick and Atlantic Canada a leader in this space.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics invested $2.7 million to the centre, while Irving Shipbuilding contributed $750,000. Lockheed Martin’s contribution is part of its industrial and regional benefits obligation to the federal government pursuant to its contract for the CP-140 Aurora Structural Life Extension Project; Irving Shipbuilding’s contribution is part of its Value Proposition commitments under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), Canada’s 30-year plan to renew the fleets of the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard.
“The work that will be done at the Marine Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence will develop exciting new technologies and bring them to market,” said Navdeep Bains, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. “The investments by Irving Shipbuilding and by Lockheed Martin show how we can leverage military procurements to generate support for the new ideas and highly skilled workforce that will sustain our marine sector for years to come.”
Dr. Mohsen Mohammadi, director of the Marine Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence and assistant professor of mechanical engineering at UNB, will lead the research and development component of the centre. CFM will partnering on commercialization. The New Brunswick Community College, Collège Communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick and the Nova Scotia Community College, will lead workforce development and training.
The nearly $5 million centre is expected to triple its funding in the coming year with other partners.
