TECHNOLOGY
GATEWAY NETWORK
Delivering innovative solutions
for industry nationwide
TECHNOLOGY GATEWAYS
delivering solutions for industry
an Enterprise Ireland network
Foreword by Minister Seán Sherlock, TD, Minister for Research and Innovation 2
Introduction to Technology Gateway Network 3
Profile of Technology Gateways 6
APT Gateway 7 CAPPA Gateway 8 COMAND Gateway 9 CREST Gateway 10 IMaR Gateway 11 MiCRA Gateway 12 MSTG Gateway 13 PMBRC Gateway 14
Shannon ABC Gateway 15
SEAM Gateway 16
TEC Gateway 17
WiSAR Gateway 18
Contact 19
Contents
There is no doubt that the importance of in-vestment in science, technology and innova-tion (STI) to Ireland’s on-going and future eco-nomic and social development and well-being has been well recognised by the Government. The investment in research and development has, and continues to have, many positive im-pacts including powering an innovative and en-terprising economy, creating high-value jobs, attracting, developing and nurturing business, scientists and talented people, and ensuring Ireland is connected and respected interna-tionally.
Innovation is very much a strategic priority for Irish businesses and an important element of driving the growth and competitiveness of our enterprises across the country. The Govern-ment’s innovation policy is about helping busi-nesses to perform better and contributing to wider the economic objectives of growth, jobs and sustainability.
The Government’s role is to create the condi-tions where enterprise, entrepreneurship and innovation can flourish and quality employ-ment opportunities can be grown and main-tained. The Technology Gateway Programme represents a significant investment by the Government, through Enterprise Ireland, in creating these conditions with total funding of €23 million over the 5 years to December 2017 committed to the Programme. Through the Technology Gateways the innovation and tech-nological expertise in the Institutes of Technol-ogy is being harnessed for the benefit of Irish based Industry on a regional and national basis. Each Gateway, hosted by the 8 participating Institutes of Technology, is acting as a portal to the expertise located nationwide in other Technology Gateways, and to the wider Irish research infrastructure. Companies can source technology solutions for their ‘close-to-market’
needs in a wide range of sectors including; wire-less solutions, applied biotechnology, polymer technologies, connected media, engineered materials, pharmaceutical and healthcare. When it comes to measuring the success of initiatives like this, it is all about real results for companies. This publication highlights the ways in which many companies have benefited from the Technology Gateways network to date. The innovation and technological outcomes from this Programme will continue to be a key driver of competitiveness and employment growth, contributing significantly to a better quality of life for future generations.
I would like to wish all involved in the Technol-ogy Gateways Network well and I look forward to seeing more successful companies from across the country benefiting from the collec-tive knowledge and resources of the Network.
Foreword by
Minister Seán Sherlock, TD,
Minister for Research and Innovation
Sean Sherlock T.D.,
To improve the competitiveness of our regions in Ireland it is imperative that we provide an innovative environment that provides support for research, education and infrastructure. These are areas where Enterprise Ireland, us-ing State funds continues to make significant investments.
Technology Gateways are such an investment and have already proven to be very success-ful in engaging with local industry and we now have the opportunity to increase these en-gagements and to shift to longer term, more significant cooperative relationships.
Enterprise Ireland has invested €23 million pro-vided by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to establish this nationwide network of 12 industry-focused Technology Gateways located in 8 Institutes of Technology. The Technology Gateways are access points to individual research groups in Institutes of Technology which have the critical mass which allows them to work with industry. The strength of the Technology Gateways lies in their abil-ity to leverage the Institutes of Technology research groups’ skills and becoming almost like the R&D department of companies for a defined period.
Over the past 5 years, the Technology Gate-ways and their forerunners, the Applied Re-search Enhancement Centres, have delivered solutions for over 400 companies through 730 innovation-focused industry collaborations including Innovation Vouchers and Innovation Partnership projects.
In 2013 alone the Technology Gateways com-pleted 208 collaborative projects for industry. Enterprise Ireland’s funding provided to each Technology Gateway enables the individual Gateway Managers to fulfil their role as the key contact point for industry within the relevant Institute of Technology.
The role of the Technology Gateway Manager is to secure, manage and successfully deliver in-dustry projects and solutions for their industrial partners in a time scale that industry expects. The research and technical work for the in-dustrial research projects is undertaken by the research staff from the supporting research group in the Institute of Technology.
This publication provides an introduction to the 12 Technology Gateways and the industry sectors in which they specialise in providing technical and commercial solutions. They are always happy to discuss potential collabora-tions with industry regardless of the size of the company or the project concerned.
For more information visit
www.enterprise-ireland.com/technologygateway
Introduction to Technology
Shannon ABC Applied Biotechnology Command Connected Media APT Polymer Technologies Letterkenny IT DIT IT Tallaght Waterford Institute of Technology Cork Institute of Technology IT Tralee Limerick IT Athlone IT IMaR Intelligent Mechatronics & RFID WiSAR Wireless Solutions CREST Coatings Innovations MiCRA Bio Diagnostics SEAM Engineered Materials PMBRC
Pharmaceutical & Healthcare
MSTG
Mobile Services
CAPPA
Innovation Through Light
TEC
Embedded Systems
The Gateway industrial collaborators range from Pre-HPSU, HPSU to SME and MNC com-panies, reflecting the open nature aspect of
the Gateways and their capacity to work with a range of companies. 45% of the industrial collaborators are with EI clients.
Project Type 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Total No. of Projects 36 69 117 150 150 208
Innovation Voucher 20 45 70 52 64 71
Innovation Partnership 2 7 13 19 13 19
100% Funded by Industry 14 17 34 79 73 118
Figure 2 Demonstration of the increased level of industrial collaboration achieved from 2008 to 2013
Figure 3 Profiles of Technology Gateway Clients
Table 1 Industry projects undertaken since 2008 to September 2013
45% EI
IDA Udaras
Leo and others 39% 2% 14% 250 200 150 100 50 0 2008 Total Industrial Collabrations Innovation Voucher Projects Innovation Partnership Projects Projects Directly Funded by Industry 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Number
PROFILE OF
TECHNOLOGY
GATEWAYS
The APT Gateway is based on the Athlone IT campus. APT is providing polymer technology solutions for companies in the medical, com-posite, recycling and pharmaceutical sectors. APT provides industry with access to:
• Pilot and Production scale Injection Moulding, Blow Moulding, Thermoforming, Extrusion and Compounding lines.
• Advanced Analytical Facilities for materials research, testing and troubleshooting. • Design, Rapid Prototyping and
Micro-Moulding Capabilities.
Shasta Ltd. is a highly innovative company that specialises in baby care products and leads the way in portable baby care sterilisa-tion technologies. Shasta wanted to develop the world’s first portable baby bottle steriliser
(Steri-Ova). In collaboration with Shasta, APT developed a plastic prototype using 3D mod-elling and rapid prototyping technology. The collaboration brought the Steri-Ova concept to reality, producing a superior product in terms of speed, size, convenience and reliabil-ity. Steri-Ova is now patented in Ireland and
patents are pending in 140 countries. It is cur-rently poised for launch worldwide in partner-ship with one of the leading names in the baby care market. This work came from the com-pletion of 2 EI Innovation Vouchers. Shasta has a pipeline of further innovative products that it hopes to develop in collaboration with AIT. “AIT brought Steri-Ova from concept into a prototype that we could show potential customers and investors” - Ann Marie Durkin, CEO, Shasta.
Case Study – Shasta Ltd.
The APT Gateway
CONTACT: Sean Lyons, APT Gateway Manager EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: +353 90 6468284 MOBILE: +353 87 2823439 WEB: www.APTIreland.ie T he APT G at ew ay
T he CAPP A G at ew ay
The CAPPA Gateway based in CIT is applying light based photonic technologies for near to market problems for industrial partners seek-ing solutions for:
• New Photonics Devices • Med Tech & Pharmaceuticals • Food & Beverages
• Manufacturing Technologies
Radisens Diagnostics, a Cork-based medical diagnostics company, is breaking new ground with its development of a single device that requires only a finger prick of blood to run the many tests that physicians require for manag-ing chronic diseases such as diabetes, thyroid disorders and kidney and heart diseases. The company’s diagnostic device is designed to replace the ten to 15 stand-alone instruments typically required for routine blood testing and is capable of returning laboratory-grade results within minutes.
In 2012, Radisens was awarded a €1m con-tract by the European Space Agency to add a thyroid test to its platform, providing point-of-care health monitoring for astronauts on board the International Space Station and on various human space flight missions. Other re-cent accolades include being recognised with Frost & Sullivan’s 2012 European Technology Innovation Award, and Radisens’ early strate-gic partnerships with the leading diagnostic multinationals globally. Radisens first began working with the CAPPA Technology Gateway at Cork Institute of Technology in late 2010 on a short-term R&D project supported by an In-novation Voucher.
CAPPA and Radisens subsequently collabo-rated on a further project supported through the Innovation Partnership programme. The aim was to explore novel optical approaches for delivering the diagnostic capabilities of Radisens point-of-care health monitoring platform. This project, which ran from sum-mer 2011 to autumn 2012, combined nusum-meri- numeri-cal simulation and experimental development, matching Radisens’ expertise in microfluidcs and biochemistry with CAPPA’s focus on opti-cal technologies.
The technology developed has the potential to be integrated directly into Radisens point-of-care platform, used for multi-analyte detec-tion and analysis. Moreover, according to CEO Jerry O’Brien, ‘as a result of the close collabo-ration and knowledge transfer fostered by the project, the relation with CAPPA has contin-ued, and the research group has continued to provide optical support and input into other areas of ongoing technology development at Radisens Technology’.
CONTACT: Guillaume Huyet, PI CAPPA Gateway EMAIL: [email protected]
TEL: +353 21 4335595 WEB: www.cappa.ie
The CAPPA Gateway
The COMAND Gateway based in AIT is deliver-ing solutions for software industry across mul-tiple media platforms with a focussed technol-ogy offer of:
• Cloud Media Platform:
• Intelligent Media Systems & Cross Platform Media Application
• Multimodal Interfacing using natural user interfaces from the computer and cloud
Openet Telecom, headquartered in Dublin, provides real-time, transaction management software and services to the world’s leading telecom network operators. Its products help operators to fully realise the commercial po-tential of their networks, enable the emerging ‘Internet of Things’ and explore new business models. The company has over 950 employees and more than 80 customers across 30 coun-tries. In September 2013, Openet was named European Entrepreneur of the Year at the Tech Growth Summit in Berlin.
Signalling overload is an increasing problem in modern mobile networks as a result of the proliferation of smartphone devices and their need to be constantly connected. Openet ap-proached the COMAND Gateway to identify a solution to help its customers addresses this problem. Modern mobile operating systems manage the lifecycle of applications in order to conserve resources on the device. Once a user finishes interacting with an app, it is often shifted into background mode, where the app relinquishes the user interface of the device, but is still able to perform tasks such as net-working. Many apps rely on in-app advertising to generate revenue and constantly poll back-end advert
servers to check for new ads to display, and this continues in background mode causing significant signalling load on the network. The solution arrived at through the Enterprise Ireland funded Innovation Partnership project was to tackle the so-called ‘chatty’ apps with the aims of reducing the resource demand on the radio access network by only allowing full bearer services to applications that are run-ning in the foreground. The approach taken is to deploy agent software on the Android OS that mediates the data flows between the device and backend servers. Background data is permitted in certain cases for ‘whitelisted’ apps, but, in general, data generated from background apps are blocked. The software agent is controlled via policies set up on a backend server, to which the agent connects periodically. The agent also collects statistics relating to network communications from the device and forwards these on to the server for analysis and display. Commenting on the col-laboration, Joe Hogan Openet Telecom said:
“The objectives of the research project were achieved in delivering a first-to-market and innovative commercial product with real-life outputs, and that is what a Innovation Partner-ship should deliver.”
The COMAND Gateway
CONTACT: Anthony Cunningham, COMAND Gateway Manager EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: +353 90 6483096 WEB: www.comand.ie T he C OMAND G at ew ay
T he CRES T G at ew ay
The CREST Gateway based in DIT delivers coatings innovation solutions for industry in the engineering, construction, healthcare and biomedical industries. CREST offers compa-nies expertise in:
• Protective Coatings for challenging environments
• Surface treatment of metal components • Coatings for Environmental Applications • Biomedical Devices
Smart Wall Paint is Dublin based high potential start up company that is manufacturing and distributing a paint which turns any surface into a whiteboard. Once the Smart Wall Paint is painted onto any surface it becomes a high performance dry erasable and durable white-board. The main customers are Education Insti-tutes and Businesses that use the whiteboard spaces for Innovation, Training and Idea Gen-eration sessions. The company approached the CREST Gateway in DIT, part of the EI funded Technology Gateway Network, to undertake a material development investigation on the paint that will enhance its functionality and it
capacity to be use with a variety of visual aids that be utilised in Innovation and Training ses-sions. This project was funded as a feasibility study under the Innovation Partnership Pro-gramme and the initial results achieved were so encouraging the company has committed to a Full Innovation Partnership with CREST which will be completed later in 2014. Com-pany Director Ronan Clarke commented that:
“What will come out of this will be huge for us and for a small Irish company to be able to do that kind of R&D, without that innovation partnership scheme it just wouldn’t happen.”
CONTACT: Brendan Duffy, CREST Gateway Manager EMAIL: [email protected]
TEL: +353 (0)1 4027964 WEB: www.crestdit.com
The CREST Gateway
The IMaR Gateway based in IT Tralee is apply-ing its core expertise in Intelligent Mechtronics and RFID to provide technology solutions for manufacturing industries including Telecom-munications Automotive, Pharmaceutical, Biomedical; Aeronautical, Environmental and Agri-business. IMARs technology offer is the integration of:
• Intelligent sensor systems using RFID for monitoring environmental conditions or process based measurements.
• Mechtronic sensors for industrial automation.
Dairymaster, based in Kerry, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of milking equipment, with customers in 37 countries. The company develops unique, technologi-cally advanced solutions, aimed at making dairy farming more profitable, enjoyable or sustainable. It has pioneered advances in such areas as milking parlour equipment, automatic scrapers, automatic cow feeding systems and farm management software.
Through a project supported with Innovation Partnership funding, the IMaR Technology Gateway based at the Institute of Technology, Tralee, assisted Dairymaster in developing an auto-washer for the cleaning and sanitisation of on-farm milking machines. Meanwhile, in a second Innovation Partnership supported-project, IMaR has worked with Dairymaster to develop a device for detecting progester-one concentration in milk so as to determine if a cow is in heat and ready for breeding. These technologies integrate into Dairymas-ter’s existing product portfolio in line with the company’s commercialisation schedule.
Dairymaster and IMaR are also working to-gether in an ongoing R&D partnership, funded through Europe’s Seventh Framework Pro-gramme, as part of a pan-European research consortium, aiming to develop an intelligent, next-generation robotic milking system which avoids the limitations imposed by current ro-botic systems. The objective is for this system to incorporate automated teat cleaning, clus-ter attachment and post-milking disinfection on a scalable rotary milking installation.
Commenting on the work with the IMaR cen-tre, Dairymaster’s CEO & Technical Director. Dr Edmond Harty, said: “We were very pleased with the expertise, service and results that the centre provided. Working with external personnel can bring an additional capability, viewpoint or skill to a project which might not happen if all projects were done in-house. We hope to continue with this successful collabo-ration in the future.”
The IMaR Gateway
CONTACT: Ultan McCarthy, IMaR Gateway Manager EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: +353 66 7144230 WEB: www.imar.ie T he IMaR G at ew ay
T
he MiCRA G
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The MiCRA Gateway based in IT Tallaght de-livers solutions for companies in the in vitro diagnostics, environmental, food and pharma-ceutical sectors with expertise in:
• Sensor prototyping and manufacturing • Materials development and characterisation • Immunoassay platform development • Enzyme biosensors for human & animal
health care
• Biosensors for the rapid and sensitive detection of bacteria
Tridelta, based in Kildare, is a veterinary diag-nostics company developing diagnostic assays for animals. The company specialises in acute phase protein assays for multiple domestic and commercial animals and is regarded as a leading company in this field, exporting over 99 per cent of its production to veterinar-ians and researchers worldwide. Tridelta ap-proached the MiCRA Technology Gateway at IT Tallaght to develop an immunoassay testing technique capable of automation, using pre-existing laboratory equipment for detecting canine C-reactive protein (CPR).
CPR is one of the family of acute phase pro-teins found in the bloodstream of humans and animals. Under normal conditions, it occurs at low levels. However, when present at elevated levels, it is a highly sensitive indicator response to inflammatory conditions, infections and other disease states.
The project produced a fully optimised micro-particle assay test for canine CRP. MiCRA also provided technical transfer support to the company and sourced, installed and validated
an appropriate bulk manufacturing system for the assay test. The assay was successfully vali-dated by five independent international sites and was demonstrated to be equivalent in terms of analytical performance to the market standard ELISA (enzyme linked immunoassay) test. As a result, the assay is now commercially available from Tridelta. This has enabled the company to target new markets, generat-ing further exports and revenue. In addition, the success of the project has enhanced the company’s reputation as a leader in the acute phase protein diagnostic markets. As of re-lease, Tridelta’s assay is a world first for spe-cifically detecting canine CRP.
Commenting on the research partnership, Brian Hett CEO said: “Working with MiCRA has allowed Tridelta to develop products to both secure its current markets and allow for the expansion of the products into new custom-ers and geographic markets. The new tech-nologies that MiCRA transferred to Tridelta have strengthen our marketing positions and helped to create jobs.”
CONTACT: James Hayes, MiCRA Gateway Manager EMAIL: [email protected]
TEL: +353 (0)1 4042084 WEB: www.micra.ie
The MiCRA Gateway
The MSTG Gateway based in WIT collaborates with companies involved in delivering mobile services primarily for smart phones and tab-lets. MSTG’s technology offer is based upon expertise in:
• Distributed & cloud-based mobile services • Next generation IP based voice and video • Location, context, smart space and social
service enablers
• Data science and mining
Two-Ten Health is a leading supplier of Clini-cal Software to Dental Schools and Hospitals internationally. The company approached MSTG to assist them in the development of data capturing software system applied to the clinical environment. This project was funded through the EI Innovation Partnership Pro-gramme. MSTG re-imagined how the Two-Ten solution could be provided and rebuilt it from the ground up as a cloud based offering that utilised modern data collection devices such as the iPad. The solution is also platform in-dependent and eliminates the requirement for expensive infrastructure to be installed in house in dental schools. In addition by tak-ing data into the cloud, it enables data to be anonymised, aggregated and datamined and the team developed a series of analytics tech-niques into the solution.
The developed prototype product is currently being licensed to the company and will be de-ployed as a distributed platform to store pa-tient data on behalf of the Dental Professionals and Hospitals. This will enable dental and oral research by aggregating data gathered from dental examinations into a fully secure remote system that will provide a specially designed interface for researchers from associated bod-ies to access reports on this data. This project has helped the company to evolve their prod-uct portfolio by deploying it in a more cost-effective and platform independent manner. This product will replace Two-ten Health’s cur-rent offering in the market.
“The Innovation Partnership was a success for all involved with sharing technical knowledge/ skills to deliver a cutting-edge product. The Innovation Partnership encourages collabora-tion between industry and academia, as well as delivering at high quality and cost-effective result.” Dave Howard, CTO of TTH.
The MSTG Gateway
CONTACT: Barry Downes, MSTG Gateway Manager EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: WEB: mstg.tssg.org T he IMaR G at ew ay
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he PMBRC G
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The PMBRC Gateway based in WIT delivering solutions for industry in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors in areas such as drug delivery, process technology, biotechnology, biomedical and separation science with ex-pertise in:
• Physico-chemical characterisation of materials.
• Advanced analytical capability.
• Formulation, process development and drug delivery
EirGen Pharma is a pharmaceutical company based in Waterford. Using its purpose built high-containment facility, EirGen specialises in the development, manufacture and registra-tion of high-potency cancer therapy products for global pharmaceutical markets.
During the development of its breast cancer tablet product, Eir-010, the company was faced with the challenge of identifying three unknown impurities. Pharmaceutical impuri-ties can arise during the manufacture and/ or storage of the drug and can influence the efficacy or safety of the product. For EirGen Pharma, the problem represented a significant barrier, as international pharmaceutical regu-lations require that impurities present above a certain level should be identified.
To resolve the issue, EirGen approached the PMBRC Technology. Supported by an Innova-tion Voucher, the PMBRC team used a com-bination of analytical techniques, separation and spectroscopic techniques to determine the structure and identity of the three impuri-ties. EirGen Pharma was able to use the data
generated by the PMBRC to support the filing of Eir-010 with the European Medicine Agency (EMA). Eir-010 was subsequently approved by the EMA and will be commercially launched in key European markets, with sales worth €20m over the next five years forecast by the com-pany.
Since the completion of this project, EirGen has formed a strategic research partnership with the PMRBC through the F7 Marie Curie, exploring innovative methods for delivering drugs across the skin, and the joint work has already yielded significant results.
EirGen’s Technical Director and Co-founder, Tom Brennan, said “As a SME, it is vital that we have access to high-calibre research capacity, without incurring the overhead of establish-ing facilities similar to those we can utilise at PMBRC as required. Convenient access to the researchers and facilities at PMBRC has been crucial to our growth over the last four years. It is no exaggeration to say that the team there has been pivotal to our successful growth to date.”
CONTACT: Niall O’Reilly, PMBRC Gateway Manager EMAIL: [email protected]
TEL: +353 51 306167 WEB: www.pmbrc.org
The PMBRC Gateway
The Shannon ABC Gateway based on the IT Tralee & Limerick IT campuses develops of new processes and novel products from bio-resources, transferring these solutions to Biotech, Food and Life Science industries with expertise in:
• Bio-Prospecting & Bio Processing: Screening, extraction, characterisation and testing of bioactive molecules, as well identifying routes to scale-up.
• Analytical and Research Services: Shannon ABC’s expertise and state of the art facilities and equipment to assist companies address specific challenges.
Algae Health, based in Galway, is a young start-up company with high-growth prospects. Focused on the production of health and nu-tritional compounds from marine sources, it has identified a microalgae source for carot-enoids with potential health benefits. Follow-ing three years of intensive R&D, Algae Health approached the Shannon ABC Technology Gateway to develop a scaled-up process for the sustainable, environmentally friendly pro-duction of these nutraceuticals. The project was supported through Enterprise Ireland’s Innovation Partnership fund.
Shannon ABC helped identify the best micro-algal strains for the production of the carote-noid Astaxanthin, and, as part of the transition from lab-scale reaction conditions to large-scale industrial reactors. The Gateway assisted Algae Health in the operation of the compa-ny’s pilot-scale (1,000 litre), enclosed cultiva-tion reactors for a period of over 18 months. This involved addressing technical processing issues and optimising the tank conditions, re-sulting in improved bio-active yields as well as improving the cost-effectiveness of the production system. In addition, the research
team developed a scalable, supercritical fluid extraction process for the extraction, purifica-tion and enrichment of bioactive components, addressing one of the key issues associated with the environmentally sustainable commer-cial production of nutraceuticals from microal-gae. Algae Health and Shannon ABC continue to collaborate and are both currently involved in a pan-European research project, called BAMMBO, with the objective of developing alternative ways to produce target bio-active compounds from marine sources, balancing environmental, health and economic concerns.
“Working with Shannon ABC has been vital to the commercialisation of our company,” commented Algae Health’s founder Edward McHugh. “Their laboratory cultivation skills enabled us to develop the technical knowl-edge to scale-up to pilot tanks.. On the back of the results from the refinement of our tech-nology, Algae Health has been able to secure €950,000 commercialisation funding, and we now employ five people, with plans for 23 em-ployees within the next three years.”
The Shannon ABC Gateway
CONTACT: Tim Yeomans, Shannon ABC Gateway EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: +353 66 714 4217 WEB: www.shannonabc.ie T he IMaR G at ew ay
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he SEAM G
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The SEAM Gateway based in WIT provides engineering material solutions for industry in sectors such as Bio-medical devices, Pharma-ceuticals, Micro-Electronics, Precision Engi-neering & Construction with expertise in: • X-Ray Micro-tomography (XMT): 3D Non
destructive characterisation;
• Finite Element Analysis: 3D Software Modelling;
• Materials & Precision Engineering: engineering design & characterisation; • Bio Medical Engineering: Development
of Novel materials.
Mincon, an indigenous company based in Shannon, manufactures state-of-the-art ham-mers and drill bits. Founded in 1977, it is cur-rently the world’s third largest manufacturer of drill heads for down-the-hole, percussive drill-ing operations. The company was catapulted into the international limelight during the Copiapó mining accident back in 2010, when a Mincon hammer was used to establish the initial lifeline to the 33 trapped Chilean min-ers, providing an all-important link for com-munications and food, water and medicines. Mincon’s target markets include the construc-tion, exploraconstruc-tion, geothermal, mining, seismic, water-well, oil and gas and other industries. In 2010, the company approached the SEAM Technology Gateway at Waterford Institute of Technology as part of a million-euro design project to develop superior drill heads for ge-othermal heating wells in the Nordic market. Geothermal applications present an extremely challenging environment, and drill head failure can occur as a result of both operator inexpe-rience and residual stresses in the drill head generated through the manufacturing process.
Mincon’s objective was to address the tenden-cy for such failures so as to gain a competitive market edge. What SEAM brought to the table was a combination of metallurgical know-how and expertise in finite element analysis (FEA). On gaining an understanding the Mincon’s needs, the research group submitted an Inno-vation Partnership proposal to Enterprise Ire-land. The 18-month project, which commenced in September 2010, sought to understand the drill head fracture mechanisms and to develop a design optimised drill head for down-the hole drilling operations.
According to Mincon’s Technical Director Joe Purcell, the project has enabled Mincon to develop a greater understanding of science behind drill head failures and to develop so-lutions to minimise these issues. “We are ex-tremely satisfied with the work carried out by SEAM and have implemented product changes as a result of findings,” he said. “The result is an overall improvement in product performance, which has contributed to increased sales of 30 per cent for 2012’
CONTACT: Ramesh Raghavendra, SEAM Gateway Manager EMAIL: [email protected]
TEL: +353 51 845648 MOBILE: +353 87 9668547 WEB: www.seam.ie
The SEAM Gateway
The TEC Gateway based in CIT is the indus-try interface for the Nimbus group in CIT. The Gateway offers ICT solutions for a broad range of industry in the embedded computer field for the following sectors
• Energy: Intermittency & Demand • Water: Remote monitoring,
• Location Based Services and Applications: Security, Tourism eHealth
Eurotech, based in Co Monaghan, is a spe-cialist renewable energy heating solutions company, offering a full consultation, design, commissioning and aftercare service. Its solu-tions combine underfloor heating with air, wa-ter, ground source or geothermal based heat pumps and intelligent heating controls.
Identifying a unique commercial opportunity, Eurotech sought to enhance its product port-folio by developing a novel wireless energy monitoring system, which would reduce run-ning costs and improve ease-of-use for own-ers and installown-ers. Moreover, the system would be capable of operating on a wired or a stable wireless network or a possible combination of both.
Eurotech enlisted the support of the TEC Technology Gateway in a project supported with Innovation Partnership funding. Using an innovative, modular approach, the TEC centre provided Eurotech with a full system require-ments analysis, specification, design and build. The system developed provides an intuitive, multi-access user interface, based on current web technologies. Field trials are currently
ongoing via a gsm wireless router in Mallow, Co Cork. The company believes that the plat-form has significant export potential. No other product currently on the market offers a high-intelligence, multi-zone energy monitoring so-lution in a single package, capable of receiving inputs as well as delivering outputs. Eurotech now plans to set up a new manufacturing and supply chain team. This will include an addi-tional three engineers as well as a dedicated sales and marketing team.
Commenting on the collaboration, Eurotech’s Managing Director, Gerard Duffy, said “We quickly realised the ability of CIT to research, discover and integrate possibilities using cut-ting edge IT technology to transfer our ther-mal and mechanical know-how into a modern IT solution. We know there was no possibility that we could have made these discoveries and developments in-house. Due to the flexibility afforded us and a clear willingness to exploit every possibility, we will succeed in develop-ing an energy monitordevelop-ing solution beyond our original expectation.”
The TEC Gateway
CONTACT: Richard Linger, TEC Gateway Manager EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: +353 21 433 5562 MOBILE: +353 87 124 0480 WEB: www.tec-centre.ie T he IMaR G at ew ay
T he W iS AR G at ew ay
The WiSAR Gateway based in LyIT is deliver-ing solutions to companies in Ireland and in particular the North West, utilising its wireless sensor technologies expertise from system design to prototype development. Its industry offer includes
• Wireless Embedded Systems for Health Monitoring;
• RF Design and Testing;
• Power electronics design to prototypes; • Electrical Systems for Industrial Processes.
Chameleon Colour Systems is an SME based in Galway. They have developed and manu-factured innovative Colour Tinting and Mixing Systems since 1992 with a client base through-out Europe, Middle East and selected SE Asian and South American markets, exporting to 57 countries worldwide. In response to customer feedback and market demand, Chameleon required support in the development of the next generation paint making machine. This required a new digital design to allow for DC motor control, accurate timing control of shaking cycles and bespoke user interface software. The objective was to design a single board solution with reduced manufacturing cost and increased reliability, etc.
The company partnered with the WiSAR Lab availing of its expertise in embedded design, PCB design, prototyping and test. A new board was designed and delivered, with test procedure protocols that allow for effective testing and quality control of boards in Ireland. This was critical to Chameleon’s success and continued growth through the introduction of a new and improved product. The company maintains an ongoing relationship with WiSAR with further collaboration planned.
“Working closely with WiSAR, we resolved a weakness in the electronic control system of a key new product. WiSAR has made a sig-nificant difference to us, offering us technical expertise and confidence to consider further projects in the knowledge that they can assist us.” Padraic Timon Founder and Managing Di-rector, of Chameleon Colour Systems.
CONTACT: Fergal Tuffy, WiSAR Gateway Manager EMAIL: [email protected]
TEL: +353 74 918 6454 WEB: www.wisar.ie
The WiSAR Gateway
Case Study – Chameleon Colour
Systems
For further information on the Technology Gateway Network, please contact the team:
Mark Whelan
Enterprise Ireland - Shannon Office Tel: +(353) 61 777053
Paddy Byrne
Enterprise Ireland - Waterford Office Tel: +(353) 51 333531
Enterprise Ireland East Point Business Park Dublin 3, Ireland
Tel: +353 1 727 2000
www.enterprise-ireland.com
TECHNOLOGY
GATEWAY NETWORK
Delivering innovative solutions
for industry nationwide
TECHNOLOGY GATEWAYS
delivering solutions for industry
an Enterprise Ireland network
