Few may know that at the heart of college campus on southern Vancouver Island sits a unique hub of ingenuity, driven by creativity and innovation.
One of only three applied research centres in the province, Camosun Innovates opened its doors Sept. 25 to showcase the potential of what their small team of tinkerers can achieve for those who seek their help.
“We provide companies, not-for-profit organizations and governments with research services for things that they want to create and put into the manufacturing pipeline, but don't have the resources or facilities to do so,” said Richard Gale, director of the Camosun College Interurban Campus facility in Saanich.
“We get technology into our centre that other companies can't afford to use or acquire (and) we give them the opportunity to see them, to work with them and to find out whether that's going to improve their productivity.”
With up to 150 clients a year, this small team of professional problem solvers worked on countless projects, some being as simple as creating a unique clamp for motorcycle seats to using 3D scanning and printing to build a replica Bowhead whale skeleton.
Over the years, Camosun Innovates has worked with sectors ranging from aquaculture and forestry to health, education and private industry. Gale recalled one memorable request from the BC Centre for Disease Control during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When the Pfizer vaccines came in, they had to be kept at -30 C, and as a result, they had a very small window to move them from one packaging option to another,” he said. “So we created a system by which they could move those Pfizer vaccines.”
Just metres away from Gale, applied research technologist Jesse Dardengo stood by a project he and students developed after being approached by renowned Indigenous artist Carey Newman.
Newman asked Dardengo’s team for help with carving totems from multiple pieces of second-growth timber. Months later, the team designed a novel system to shape, carve, and work on his project with ease.
“It’s essentially a large (spit) rotisserie that he can put all the pieces into place, lay out the carving lines and everything that he needs, and then it gives him the ability to raise it up and down, rotate it so that it's much more ergonomic than traditional carving methods,” he said.
What separates Camosun Innovates from other private shops, Gale explains, has to do with their flexibility.
“One of the beauties of our shop, as opposed to going to another shop in town, is that we are material and process agnostic,” he said. “If you go to a machine shop with a problem, they're going to create something in metal that'll solve that problem.
“We might suggest metal, we might suggest 3D printing, or cutting something out of composites.”
While the centre has served clients from across B.C. for the past 15 years, supported by both provincial and federal governments, this open house also doubles as an opportunity to step out of the shadows and engage with the broader community.
“I still go to events here in town and when I talk about what we do, half the room doesn't know who we are,” he said. “The whole point of this was to say, ‘We are here.’
“We have automation systems and robotics that could completely transform your production line. We have access to scanning technologies that will simplify your means of production. We have ways to improve your production, to streamline your manufacturing and to solve problems. Our team is completely interdisciplinary.”
To learn more about Camosun Innovates, visit camosun.ca/innovates.
