Centre for Engineering Professional Practice and Engineering Education

The Tetra Tech CAD Technology Centre (E2-210 EITC) and the Digital Fabrication Laboratory (FABlab) (E2-220 EITC) are complementary design spaces that allow students to develop a hands-on understanding of how to conceptualize, design, prototype, and communicate design ideas.  

In the CAD Lab, students use state of the art CAD and other design tools to develop and design engineering solutions to engineering problems in a variety of disciplines and applications. The facility is comprised of a 40-seat computer (teaching) lab, with a multitude of design and analysis software applications available for use, including:

• Full Solidworks Suite 
• Autodesk Autocad 
• Autodesk 3D Studio Max 
• Autodesk Civil 3D 
• Autodesk Inventor 
• Ansys Workbench 
• ArcGIS 
• Geo Studio 
• Maple 
• Matlab 
• Mastercam 
• Arduino IDE 
• Adobe Photoshop (Elements) 
• Ansys Workbench 

In the FABLab, students use a mix of industrial and open source fabrication tools with an emphasis on digital fabrication technologies to prototype and develop designs. The facility is composed of a wide range of fabrication equipment with a custom designed room that features active ventilation and workflow management to allow students to come and go and develop their designs. Some of the fabrication equipment students have access to include:

• 7 FDM 3D printers set up to print in PLA/ABS/TPU and a variety of materials 
• 1 Continuous-Fibre-Reinforced 3D printer to print Nylon with fibreglass, Kevlar or carbon reinforcement 
• 3 desktop SLA printers set up for resin and castable materials
• 2 Laser Cutters (50-watt) set up for wood, plastic, foams, paper 
• 5 Axis Dental CNC milling machine set up for metal/plastic prototypes 
• 2 industrial laser scanners for reverse engineering (photometric) 
• Various surface treatment stations (vapor, ultrasonic, abrasive media) 
• Small scale injection molding machine for small prototype runs 
• Vacuum form machine for over molding (styrene core) or straight forming 
• Manual machining equipment (gunsmith lathe, knee mill) set up for precision prototypes 
• A variety of manual manufacturing equipment (presses, brakes, rolls, saws, drills) for specialty work 

The CAD and FAB Labs are used in formal course instruction while also supporting open access time for students in upper year design courses and design competition teams. 
 

The Applied Aerospace Instrumentation course will provide you with a practical understanding of the role that measurement plays in today’s technologically advanced world. Though geared towards aerospace test system instrumentation (with a particular focus on the gas turbine engine industry), this course is of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about the design, implementation and analysis of the measurement chain. The goal of this course is to introduce you to the design and deployment of measurement systems and all elements of the measurement chain – from sensors, to signal conditioning, to data display. Through practical, industry-based projects, you will gain an understanding of how to apply a measurement system design methodology and how to measure system accuracy. Participation is via a per-seat fee. For details, contact engineer-in-residence Kathryn Atamanchuk.

In the Operational Excellence course, participants methodically apply operational excellence and engineering principles and theory to address real industry problems. The emphasis is on the data and fact-based engineering method of problem solving. The course is grounded in the Plan-Do-Study-Act system, covering the seven-step problem solving method (Problem Definition, Examine the Current Situation, Root Cause Analysis, Action Planning and Testing, Study the Results, Standardize the changes and Draw Conclusions), applied statistical concepts (Lean Six Sigma Management), and the fundamentals of teamwork, team dynamics and change management applied to current engineering problems. Participation is via a multi-year funding agreement between the University and your organization, by which you can then send two employees per year to the course and have student teams work on your internal operational excellence challenges. For details, contact engineer-in-residence Vern Campbell.