student wearing virtual reality gogglesA virtual reality lab was one of the projects demonstrated by fourth-year industrial engineering students on March 31.

Industrial engineering students demonstrate capstone projects

The capstone showcase for industrial engineering, March 31 in the Centre for Engineering Innovation, featured excellent examples of student achievement, said professor Jill Urbanic.

“The students’ hard work and quality of results were evident during the demo day. They had some great solutions to show off,” she said.

The Faculty of Engineering’s capstone design program generates student-driven solutions to real-world problems. Projects challenge fourth-year engineering students to apply the formal knowledge they’ve gained during their undergraduate studies.

Industrial engineering students spend the fall and winter semesters working on sponsored projects from initial concepts to final designs.

Bunmi Akinyede and her team worked with industry partner Parker Drouillard of Pep Corp., a service provider for 3D printed parts. Together they developed a scalable assembly line that will enable the company to achieve a faster production rate — building 30 3D printers a day.

Another team built a virtual reality lab. Group members Ryan Dib and Peilun Li were to develop a low-cost bio-material liquid handling machine for industry partner MolArray Research. Inspired by the workings of a 3D printer, they found that type of arm more affordable for the project than a robotic arm. Their virtual reality environment allows guests to experience the lab space.

In addition, three other projects involved partnerships in agricultural industries.

—Naomi Pelkey