VIEW Winter 2025 Canada Post Mail Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 The voice of the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association Transforming precision metalworking for the future Harnessing AI: 5 CONTENTS WINTER 2025 17 Hazardous chemicals in your workplace? Five ways to prepare for MLITSD inspections MEMBER PROFILE 19 Exco Engineering CTMA HEADLINES 21 CTMA welcomes new members! 22 New members receive their plaques 23 CTMA takes part in Level Up!: Helping youth discover opportunities in skilled trades 26 Atlas Tube tour: A unique look into the world of structural steel manufacturing 26 Mitutoyo Tour & Networking Dinner impress attendees 27 Saying Goodbye to Mike Solcz Sr. 28 Emerging Technologies in Automation Conference & Trade Show showcases Windsor-Essex’s reputation as a leader 29 CTMA participates at the Windsor Shop Expo 30 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS 19 UP FRONT 7 A Message from the CTMA president FEATURES 9 Harnessing AI: Transforming precision metalworking for the future 12 CTMA AGM & Dinner: 2024 leads the way! 15 EV industry update: CTMA’s call for action on unfair trade practices 23 Winter 2025 Published For: The Canadian Tooling & Machining Association 140 McGovern Drive, Unit 3 Cambridge, Ontario N3H 4R7 Tel: (519) 653-7265 Fax: (519) 653-6764 marketing@ctma.com www.ctma.com The contributed articles presented in this magazine represent the opinions of the authors and the interviewees. Their inclusion does not directly or implicitly denote concurrence by the Canadian Tooling & Machining Association. Articles were selected for inclusion based on the issues and views of interest to the industry. Published By: Matrix Group Publishing Inc. 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To request permission, please contact the association’s office by e-mail at info@ctma.com. 12 2667 UP FRONT OUR LARGEST AIRPORT IN CANADA is Toronto’s Pearson airport and if you fly into this airport at night, you can see lit up houses, streetlamps, shopping plazas, and industry that support the 6.5 million people who live there. You will also see a solid stream of thou- sands of car lights on highways up to 18 lanes wide. It’s an awesome sight and provides perspective on how much energy is being consumed at any one moment. Daily, 1.2 billion cars are driven on our planet, each of them generating heat energy with a by-product of C02 exhaust fumes. It is daunting to think about how much energy and heat is produced to accommodate the 8.2 billion people living on earth. The negative impact of both heat generation and excessive C02 gas and pollution generated by our existing technologies, which support our way of life, has been a worldwide concern for decades. So, what are the solutions to deal with it? The two most prevalent solutions are nuclear power generation for energy and the introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) to replace internal combustion engines (ICE). Both solutions can significantly move the needle to reduce both heat and the C02 exhaust generated by ICE and coal fired power plants. Awesome. Problem solved! That was easy. Last year, 14 million EVs were produced. As impressive as that is, it only represents 15% of the 94 million cars manufactured worldwide last year. Governments across the globe pushed the traditional legacy automotive manufacturers hard to start designing and manufacturing EVs and with that pressure, the auto giants immediately pivoted to spending billions to set up new manufacturing facilities. Within a few years of investment, the realities surfaced. Aside from early EV adopters, auto companies saw that EV sales were not being realized to the point where they started to incur huge financial losses. Not enough people were buying EVs, regardless of their benefits, government incentives, or government mandates. So, what happened? With all the brilliant auto executives, engineers, politicians, economists, and market forecasters, not to mention access to an infinite amount of data and consumer studies, how did they get it so wrong? Many billions of dollars were spent, yet the goals weren’t even close to being achieved. This year, I attended several presentations put on by the who’s who in the automotive forecasting and analysis world and to “nut shell” their post mortem of what happened, they concluded that the price to purchase an EV is way too high compared to an ICE vehicle, the infrastructure to charge the batteries just isn’t in place yet, and people have range anxiety, which alone is enough for them to not want to purchase an EV. These factors, combined with fears of resale values, increased insurance costs, and fire hazards have made the average person stick with ICE vehicles. The question is, “How did we manage to get it so wrong?” Don’t get me wrong, EVs are coming and long-term they will be the average person’s reality, but how did we manage to spend billions of dollars only to either scrap our plans entirely or prolong them indefinitely. If you ask the average person about EVs, they are quick to tell you they can’t afford one, there is almost nowhere to plug it in, and they would never buy one because they wouldn’t be able to go to their cottage on the weekend without a lot of extra effort both physically and emotionally. They get it. In December 2024, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, with a salary of 40 million dollars, stepped down after 43 years in the automotive business (most of them in an executive role). Why did he step down? He kept pushing the production of Jeeps on dealers who couldn’t sell them, and they had such a glut of inventory they started to take huge financial losses. The average guy in the dealership could figure this out, but one of the shining stars in the industry couldn’t. He admits “He got it wrong.” In the early 2000s, China, while striving to be an economic powerhouse in the world, built entire cities with the hope they would be filled with people creating commerce. They now have an estimated 90 million apartment units worth an estimated 18 trillion dollars that are unoccupied. Photographer Raphael Olivier visited Ordos, known as the world’s largest Ghost City, and commented, “The whole city feels like a post-apocalyptic space station straight out of a science fiction movie.” Millions of apartments are now being torn down. How did they get it so wrong? There is a saying that, “You live your life forward and understand backwards.” Looking back now, I think there are some great opportunities and life lessons here. Ideas are necessary and are what propel us into the future, but at the same time we can often lose sight of the realities in the world around us. When someone would tell my late father about some great new idea they had, he would ask them, “Can you cash that cheque?” It is interesting that the average person can often see it, but the truth sometimes evades the best and the brightest. ❙❙❙ Louis Jahn CTMA President Jahn Engineering Ltd Don’t get me wrong, EVs are coming and long-term they will be the average person’s reality, but how did we manage to spend billions of dollars only to either scrap our plans entirely or prolong them indefinitely. How did we manage to get it so wrong?9 FEATURE rtificial Intelligence (AI) is fundamentally transforming the precision metalworking industry, driving unprecedented changes in design, manufacturing, and maintenance processes. By harnessing AI, companies can achieve new levels of efficiency, precision, and innovation, positioning themselves at the forefront of the industry’s future. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF AI IN PRECISION METALWORKING Tool wear monitoring and predictive maintenance: AI models are revolutionizing tool wear monitoring by enabling predictive maintenance strategies. Traditional reactive methods lead to unexpected downtime and increased costs. AI-driven approaches use real-time sensor data to predict tool wear accurately, allowing companies to schedule maintenance proactively. This not only minimizes disruptions but also extends the lifespan of expensive equipment. 1, 2, 3, 4 Robotic deburring enhanced by computer vision: Deburring is critical for ensuring product quality in metal parts. AI- powered robotic deburring systems utilize computer vision to adapt to the real-time conditions of each part. By dynamically adjusting machining toolpaths based on detected deviations, robots perform precise finishing on complex components like aeronautical turbomachinery. This enhances precision, reduces manual labour, and minimizes the potential for human error. 5, 6 Transforming precision metalworking for the future Process optimization in injection moulding and additive manufacturing: In injection moulding, AI models optimize process parameters by correlating them with the quality of the final product. Machine learning algorithms focus on influential in-mould conditions to improve part quality and manufacturing efficiency. 7 In additive manufacturing, federated learning allows multiple facilities to collaboratively train AI models without sharing proprietary data. This collective approach enhances dimension prediction accuracy and part qualification, leading to higher-quality outputs across the industry.8a INDUSTRY TRENDS SHAPING THE FUTURE Advanced neural networks in tool wear prediction: The use of advanced neural networks is pushing the boundaries of tool wear prediction. 9 Integrating these models with industrial edge devices creates digital twins of machinery, enabling real- time monitoring and decision-making. 10 This reduces costs associated with tool overuse or underuse and enhances overall production efficiency. 10 Anomaly detection and multi- sensory monitoring: Detecting anomalies in machining processes is crucial for maintaining product quality.11 AI models, including semi-supervised autoencoders, are trained on normal operation data to identify deviations indicating tool failures or defects.11 Processing multisensory data—such as vibrations, sounds, and temperatures—provides a comprehensive view of equipment health, enabling swift corrective actions. 12 BY SARB PARHAR, INCORPORATION.AI, AND DENIS DE LA DURANTAYE, DENIS DE LA DURANTAYE MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT Harnessing AI:Next >