When I came to Canada in January 2013, I didn’t realize that I was starting one of the most important phases of my life! Not only in my personal life, but professionally, I was about to grow so fast in my major. When I started my internship at BioLinc and Turn180, I was inserted in a new perspective. I worked with modeling for plastic injection and also some projects in the Turn180 shop, which included the use of 3D Printers. I know some of you are asking: “How did this work?” Well, let me tell you.
BioLinc is a business incubator that was established at Brock University by the Federal Government of Canada, and is managed by Dan Lynch, but they are so much more than that! They also support small companies by providing office and laboratory space and equipment, business assistance and counseling, professional network opportunities and interaction between student projects and companies!
The company Turn180 entered into a partnership with BioLinc, and they provided all of the support to develop my activities. Turn180 is a Custom Prototyping company situated in Vineland, approximately 15 kilometers from Brock. Rob DeVries and Susan DeVries founded the company. They develop Electronic Design, Mechanical Design, Rapid Prototyping, and Plastic Mold Injection as well! For this, they have a mill CNC center, a lathe, an injection machine, two 3D printers, two laser cut and updated CAD, CAM and electronic circuit simulation software.
During my internship term, I spent some days working in BioLinc, and other days I visited the Turn180 shop. I specifically focused on developing mechanical models for injection mold and 3D printer design. I also worked on machining and assembled molds for injection. Rob and Dan supervised all of my activities.
I am so proud that I had the opportunity to work with them during my internship term. I learned so many things that have helped me think outside the box in different ways, focused on results. Even now that my internship term has ended, we continue to have a good professional relationship! Thank you to everybody involved and I would like to say: let’s innovate!
