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Industrial acceptanceof metal additive manufacturing (AM) is continuously rising along with its rapid development. As such, continuous research is needed to better understand the process and print characteristics to control and improve process parameters and as-built part quality. Dimensional tolerance, surface characteristics, and mechanical properties are all key qualities to assess for printer performance enhancement and repeatability. This paper presents results for physical and mechanical property inspections and testing on a designed test artifact for the benchmarking of 3D metal printers. The properties investigated include tensile strength, hardness, dimensional accuracy, roughness, and dross formation on overhanging features. Printed artifact results show similar anisotropic mechanical properties, with tensile strengths within the manufacturer-rated ranges. Dimensional XY-plane tolerances were within -0.18 to 0.18 mm and Z-axis tolerance within -0.10 to 0.10 mm for both printers. As-built roughness values were below manufacturer maximums for both Ra and Rz. The overhang performance was similar for both machines, with increasing dross for decreasing overhang angles.

Concurrent design facilities are used by space agencies and private organizations to conduct preliminary design activities in the development of space systems. Concurrent conceptual design is characterized by dynamic exchanges between a limited team of experts, defining the operational requirements, the systems architecture, the baseline design, and budgets for different resources. The results are a preliminary system baseline and product requirements that are used as inputs to the subsequent product development phases. A study of the input and output of this early phase of product development has confirmed that data generated in concurrent design studies essentially describes behavior with a limited set of information about the geometry. The geometry at this stage is mainly composed of functional configurations with geometric envelopes. Based on this behavioral information content, the authors have looked at the SAPPhIRE model of causality, initially developed by Chakrabarti, as a potential data structure to support this early phase of system development and possibly all phases of the product lifecycle. In this current work, we present two concrete examples of concurrent conceptual design data structures for space applications and show how such data structures could be represented within the extended SAPPhIRE model. When compared to current PLM data structures, the use of the extended SAPPhIRE model represents an alternative means of structuring information and communicating this information between stakeholders, providing better understanding of the relation between a system's structure, function and behavior. It also explicitly represents the links between subsystems and the iterative nature of the design process.

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Additive manufacturing (AM) has become a popular fabrication technique with continual increasing development for hobbyists, industrial applications, and ongoing research. With the development of metal-based AM processes, the quality of built parts in terms of dimensional accuracy and material properties must be investigated to better understand the effect of printer process parameters and how performance can be controlled for desired part characteristics. This paper summarizes the previous existing designs and documented key aspects and considerations for test artifacts upon which a new test artifact was designed for use on analyzing builds of two 3D metal printers. The artifact designed includes features for dimensional analysis as well as novel features for strength and other material properties. Initial prints of 316L stainless steel show geometric accuracies of-0.35 to 0.09 mm and-0.45 to 0.15 mm and reasonable values for surface roughness, hardness, and strength. Indications of anisotropy were found through strength and hardness testing, which will be further investigated moving forward to record the effect of process parameters on the properties.

Industry engagement in undergraduate engineering education is a community-centred approach to learning that is hands-on and links the engineering theory to practice. This paper provides a review of existing Engineer-in-Residence (EIR) programs in Canada, including the University of Manitoba, Dalhousie University, University of Calgary, Ryerson University, University of Ottawa, and the University of Waterloo, as well as a brief international scan. We consider the motivations behind the institutions’ initiative to introduce EIR programs, different types of engagements, challenges, and opportunities. Programs are also examined externally relative to professional residency programs in business schools, among others, and relative to other forms of industry engagement in undergraduate engineering education. A brief overview of the history and role of EIRs within engineering programs is also presented. The paper will be of interest to those exploring a similar industry engagement framework at their institution, and offers a forward-looking perspective on ways to leverage the skills and experience of practicing engineers in preparing students to tackle the challenges of the future.

Open Education Resources are pedagogical resources which are available under open licences for reuse and remixing. These resources support collaborative development of education material, the ongoing evolution and improvement of the material and easy access to both educators and students. Several initiatives exist for OER in Canada, and resources specifically targeting engineering are beginning to emerge. At the moment, those efforts are fragmented. In line with the mission to the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) OER SIG, this paper presents an overview of current Canadian and international Engineering OER initiatives. Based on the findings, several challenges and opportunities pertaining to engineering OER are identified and recommendations are provided for engineering instructors and institutions who wish to increase the use of OER in engineering programs. For instructors, this could be adapting OER where available. For those looking to develop OER, there may be grants and resources at the institutional and provincial levels to support this. For institutions, this may be supporting instructors in using or developing OER through grants or recognition.