The University of Waterloo and the National Research Council of Canada have joined forces to help companies capitalize on the enormous potential of metal 3D printing technologies.
The collaboration will run for at least seven years.
"We want to create in southwestern Ontario a unique ecosystem to support metal additive manufacturing (AM) in terms of research and development and to translate competencies to industry partners," said Mihaela Vlasea, the associate director of UW's Multi-Scale Additive Manufacturing Lab.
Close to $2.6 million worth of equipment will be stored at the university, and at the NRC facility in Mississauga.
A major component of the project will be the development of new additive manufacturing powders - the raw materials at the heart of the technology - using metal alloys that currently aren't available or are prohibitively expensive.
With files from Erin Anderson and Blair Adams.
