R&D Activities

Since its creation in 1978, IMI has built a solid reputation as an R & D leader in the field of materials manufacturing, serving Canadian industry. Our goal: to increase scientific and technical capabilities, as well as the innovation potential of companies, by streamlining the development and adoption of new emerging technologies.

IMI conducts research and development activities involving different materials and their formulation, forming, and process control. We focus our research efforts on metals, polymers, and ceramics, including their composites and alloys.

R&D Programs Tailored to High-technology Industries

Industrial technologies are the focus of IMI. The Institute favours a sectorial approach mainly in the aerospace and biomedical sectors, as well as in transportation, metallurgy, plastic processes, food packaging, energy, sports and leisure, and information technologies. Within these targeted sectors, emphasis is also placed on virtual manufacturing and on the development of new or improved environmentally-friendly technologies. Raw materials' producers, semi-finished or end product manufacturers, and instrumentation and equipment suppliers all benefit from the results of our research.

High-level Technological Expertise

IMI's high-level expertise, divided into two groups that include Advanced Materials Design and Modelling and Diagnostics on the one hand, and the Aluminium Technology Centre on the other. Fact sheets provide more details on the following technology fields:

• technologies to enhance the formulation and microstructure of materials
• virtual manufacturing technologies, using materials forming process simulation and modelling software
• real-time diagnostic technologies to track the behaviour of materials as they are being manufactured, or to evaluate the quality of products manufactured.

Collaboration and Pooling of Expertise

IMI offers companies various partnership formats that are flexible and adapted to their needs. Moreover, these companies also benefit from the partnership network that the Institute has built with industry, other research centres, universities, the financial sector, governments and other organizations around the world.

IMI has joined its R & D efforts with those of the Integrated Manufacturing Technologies Institute (IMTI), the Institute for Chemical Process and Environmental Technology (ICPET) and the NRC's Innovation Centre in British Columbia to form the Council's Manufacturing Technologies Group.

High-quality Facilities

The Institute has testing and validation facilities that is made available to its partners, for their specific needs.

Click here to view the list of these facilities.

IMI: an R&D centre...

... an open laboratory available to
leaders of innovation.