PARTNER PROFILE BARRETT CENTRE FOR TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION
NEWSLETTER
MARCH 2019
SEW-EURODRIVE’s partnership with Humber will provide Industry 4.0 technologies training and applied research opportunities that will expand faculty, student and employee learning. “We see great value in investing in Humber students and providing them with the chance to develop the skills and gain the practical experience that today’s employers demand,” says Anthony Peluso, SEW-EURODRIVE Canada, COO. “We look forward to working with fellow industry partners to lead and build a world-class automation and learning systems centre at Humber.” The partnership will offer: • Employment and exchange pathways for Humber students to work at SEWEURODRIVE locations in Canada and around the world; • Educational programs in the areas of drive automation and Industry 4.0; • $125,000 to establish new scholarships through the SEWEURODRIVE Ernst Blickle Awards. “There is unique innovation taking place at Humber and the Barrett CTI. The convergence of industry, higher education and government on how we can improve advanced manufacturing applied research is a forwardthinking approach,” says Lyall Watson, Sales Manager, SEW-EURODRIVE Canada.
On the second floor of the Barrett CTI, SEW-EURODRIVE engineers, Andrew Keyzers and Brendan Daniel are standing in the company’s first living laboratory in North America, designed to advance Industry 4.0 skills, provide hands-on learning and showcase industrial technology to students.
A sneak peek of the SEW-EURODRIVE live lab As the Barrett CTI nears completion, SEW-EURODRIVE engineers Andrew Keyzers and Brendan Daniel are finalizing the installation of the company’s first laboratory showcase in North America.
This ‘live lab’ encompasses Industry 4.0, virtual reality, mobile technology and drive systems from SEW-EURODRIVE to showcase industrial technologies to students who will be able to manufacture real products combined with the latest technologies.
This living laboratory focuses on Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), mobile worker assistants and connected automation equipment, while demonstrating how mobile technology interacts with both people and stationary automation. By collaborating with both large Canadian companies and small and medium-sized enterprises, the partnership and the lab will help to explore how aspects of Industry 4.0 can help enhance manufacturing processing and increase productivity.
“The lab will provide small demonstrations where operators [students] will use technology to make it easy to assemble parts and components automatically. By working with the augmented reality headset, Hololens,
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they will be directed to which parts to use and tasked to follow instructions, followed by having their work tested using a robot,” says Keyzers. ARTICLE CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
humber.ca/cti
PROFILE CONTINUED ARTICLE CONTINUED Through this process, students will be asked to assemble a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) by wearing a headset and following instructions in front of them as they put together the VFD made out of component parts. The headset will tell the student which parts to pick off a rack and to place on top of an AGV, where it will be examined through a testing procedure. Once the process is complete, the AGV cycle repeats itself for
“We’ll be set-up to work on solutions-oriented projects with our customers, students, faculty and our own employees in a collaborative environment dedicated to improving our products, services and overall business.”
another student to try.
Since August, Keyzers and Daniel have been working with Humber’s Office of Applied Research and Innovation to help bring students together and provide a hands-on learning experience that will eventually lead to completing larger products with SEW.
The laboratory’s virtual reality floor will feature two AGVs,
Through this partnership with SEWEURODRIVE and other industry partners and community champions, Humber is building a network of Centres of Innovation that are bringing people, ideas and technology together to solve complex, real-world innovation challenges.
each equipped with charging stations, equipment and robot controller. Since most of the laboratory is self-operated, Keyzers and Daniel plan to demonstrate
An SEW Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV).
the factory to the first group of students who are ready to test the space. The entire process can be worked on by up to three students at a time and can take up to ten minutes to complete.
After students understand how the space is operated, Daniel says students will have the ability to make changes to the factory and how it operates. “This is not meant to be a one-time installation. Changes happen in the manufacturing industry all the time and the intent is to expand on what students learn and keep
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The Barrett CTI will incorporate sustainable features that will function as teaching tools, such as passive heating and cooling systems, a high-performance roofing system and building envelope, hydroponic in-floor heating, a green roof, rain garden and weather station and an abundance of natural, low-energy materials with long lifespans.
changing the process,” adds Daniel.
Keyzers and Daniel will continue to work with Humber students over the course of Humber and SEW’s partnership. Students will be tasked with using AGVs for semester projects outside of the factory where they will work with the company to prototype and develop load handling devices for automatic vehicles.
Keyzers notes that solving problems for customers to be more productive and profitable is one of the many fulfillments for getting a machine running. “There is a thrill of coming up with a good design and seeing it work and come to life while always striving to make it better and improve.”
Construction and equipment funding for the Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation has been provided by The Barrett Family Foundation, the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, industry partners and Humber College.
For more information about the Barrett CTI, please visit the website.
In keeping with Humber’s long-standing commitment to sustainability, the Barrett CTI is built to LEED-Platinum standards and is a net-zero building, offset by solar panels on the Commuter Hub (Humber’s new parking garage at the North Campus).