Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing - Sept/Oct '23 - 4

FROM THE EDITOR
The New Now
The sheer speed of how technology
advances is one of the reasons I got
hooked on writing about manufacturing
so many years ago. I remember visiting
a large fabrication shop more than a
decade ago that had invested heavily in
robotic welding cells. They weren't in
use because the company was having
trouble figuring out how to program
them. But while they sat in a lonely
corner of the plant collecting dust, the
company was printing prototype parts
for R&D on performance enhancements,
which was pretty advanced for that time.
With so much innovation and
advancements in technology over the
years, such investments are no longer
just about being lean and improving
efficiencies, but also about addressing
the lack of workforce, achieving speed
to market, and bringing more processes
in-house as a way to safeguard against
supply chain issues and long lead times.
Not only are manufacturers looking
to gain more control over production
with in-house capabilities, but there's
an uptick in chatter about reshoring
production. In this
issue, we have
featured Quebec-based Proslat Inc., a
company that designed, developed, and
patented its products, but had everything
manufactured in Asia. [Page 18] It had
no experience in actually fabricating
its products, there weren't any welders
on staff, nor were they experts in the
finishing side and powder coating.
A couple of years ago, Proslat pulled
the trigger and reshored its production.
Today, it manufactures 100 toolboxes-
its biggest product-and performs
10,000 welds per day, without a welder
onsite, in a 80,000-sq. -ft. facility with
only eight employees. How? Robotics
and integrated automation. The
equipment manufacturers and suppliers
involved in this build say that this
facility is one of the most technically
advanced they've worked on.
Also in this issue, our cover story
digs into metal additive manufacturing
(AM), the technology, the material and
the new type of surface finishing and
coatings professionals will be presented
with. [Page 22]
AM was hot topic 12 years ago, just like
AI is today. But it's here and it's gaining
momentum. Early adopters such as
aerospace, automotive and defence are
NOELLE STAPINSKY
Photo by Samuel Tessier
already using it to lightweight parts and
create more integrated componentry.
This technology is being covered
in sessions at all of our technology
tradeshows and it's increasingly
making its way into our newsfeed. A
federal grand to boost AM innovation
in B.C. was recently announced [Page
7] and BYK has opened its lab doors to
customers [Page 6] for dispersion and
bead milling demonstrations, but it also
has AM media capabilities.
Will or could AM replace traditional
manufacturing? Absolutely not. But
what it will be is another tool in the
box and a way to solve design problems
with rapid prototyping and low-batch
production.
D Y N A P R E P P F L
Pre-Paint Cleaner and Coater
AN ENVIRONMENTALLY
FRIENDLY SOLUTION FOR
METAL PRETREATMENT
* Chemically bonds to the oxide layer creating a
protective coating that promotes better adhesion
* Off ers signifi cant process cost savings
* Suitable for ferrous and non-ferrous substrates
* Environmentally Safe and
Simple waste treatment
process
* Better paint adhesion and
corrosion protection than iron
phosphate
* Free of Phosphates
* Free of Fluorides
* Free of Nonylphenol and
* Nonylphenol ethoxylates
* Free of regulated metals
* RoHS and REACH Compliant
* Sealer available for extended
corrosion protection
* High detergency available for
high oil
91 Esna Park Drive, Unit 7
Markham, Ontario
Phone 905-477-0900
www.dynamix-inc.com
4
www.cfcm.ca
http://www.dynamix-inc.com http://www.cfcm.ca
Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing - Sept/Oct '23

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing - Sept/Oct '23
