Second-year engineering student, Jade Demers, and Calvin Love, engineering systems developer/integrator, are pictured working in the newly opened IDEA Lab at the University of Windsor. (MIKE WILKINS/The University of Windsor)
By Lindsay Charlton
About five years ago, a group of electrical engineering students set out to bring their circuit designs and classroom theory to life by creating a space where students could see their ideas take shape.
That vision has now been fully realized with the opening of a new student-led innovation space, aptly called the IDEA Lab.
Primarily supported by the Engineering Student Fund (ESF), the lab provides engineering students with access to specialized equipment to build their own unique projects.
Under the management of second-year engineering student Jade Demers, it’s now up and running.
Hired through a co-op placement, she’s managing day-to-day operations, orders and funds, as well as advertising and social media to help get the word out.
“We’ve been here for about a month now, taking orders by word of mouth,” Demers said. “We do 3D printing, laser engraving, and PCB fabrication. I’ve made parts for an antenna, stencils, fins for the rocketry team, and some custom pieces for our friends in Makerspace.”
The IDEA Lab, located in room 1204 in the Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation, houses specialized equipment supporting digital fabrication and consulting services for engineering students.
“It’s a very unique opportunity for the University of Windsor,” said Aya Abu-Libdeh, who was originally involved in the creation of the lab and now works as R&D engineering project manager in the CHARGE Lab.
“Having this in-house, students can quickly prototype their ideas and can be involved in the whole process from start to finish. It’s a really cool experience for them.”
The students' successful bid to ESF led to the purchase of equipment for the lab, along with additional support from the Faculty of Engineering.
“That’s what officially transformed the space into the IDEA Lab as we know it today,” Abu-Libdeh said.
The lab includes a 3D printer, the ProtoMat S104 (which uses milling technology for fabrication), the XTool P2 (for precise cutting and customization), and the Proto Laser H4 — a rare PCB fabricator and the only one of its kind in Windsor-Essex.
Second-year engineering student, Jade Demers, and Calvin Love, engineering systems developer/integrator, are pictured working in the newly opened IDEA Lab at the University of Windsor. (MIKE WILKINS/The University of Windsor)
Calvin Love, engineering systems developer/integrator at UWindsor, helps Demers with the machines and was also part of the original group that helped bring the lab to life.
“On the Proto Laser H4, we can take on all sorts of projects, anything that needs service-level machining related to printed circuit boards,” he said. “We had an antenna project, which I believe was for 5G networks or energy harvesting, anything with really small feature sizes.”
From branded mugs and personalized cups to custom designs on denim, the lab handles a wide range of creative requests. Demers also helps with academic projects that require fabricated parts — whatever someone needs, she’s ready to make it happen.
She also built her own board game, using the laser to carve hexagonal spaces into a piece of wood and creating custom game pieces to match.
“The printer series we have is also different than others,” Demers explained. “It can handle harder and stronger materials like full carbon fibre, Kevlar and fibreglass.”
While the IDEA Lab is open to requests from anyone and has already been used by researchers within the faculty, Demers said engineering student projects are their first priority.
“Since this is paid by students, they only have to pay for the materials used, and we take on those projects first. But if a staff member or faculty member comes with something they want us to do, we’ll take those on too, once we’ve completed the students’,” she said.
To place an order, drop by the lab or email engidealab@uwindsor.ca with your project details.