Lakes Design Group ~ Integrated Process Technology

About Lakes Design

Lakes Design group is a Technical Resources team of engineering professionals that specialize in Heavy Industrial, Automation and High-Technology System Design throughout Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia.

Our members are located in Canada and the US, and are equipped to service your projects at your facility, or onsite around the world.

[ Hi Tech ] [ Heavy Industrial ] [ Automation ]

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High Technology Automation

There's a big difference between Packaging Automation and a Semiconductor or Medical Devices Automation design.

Critical tolerances, materials, chemistries and processes set a much higher bar in the high technology fields, where time to market as well as small percentages of throughput and yield can mean millions of dollars in profits or losses. Wafer, MEMS and other critical steps require a solid Partnering between the equipment manufacturer, engineering design, and the process engineer for final production.

From measurement and inspection; cutting, machining and lapping; cleaning, coating and drying; conveying, mounting, fixturing and packaging; We can integrate a new improved process into your R&D or production stream, or convert your manual processes to an integrated lights-out Factory of the Future (FOF) system.

We can design to SEMI or other industry requirements, and incorporate your own facility or corporate SOP requirements for machinery development and manufacturing. Requirements that you have developed to maintain standards and quality will enhance (not hinder) our project design and development.

When tolerances and handling make the difference between success and losses, get us involved! Innovation in Integrated Process Technology is our specialty!

Food-Grade, Medical-Grade and Semiconductor-Grade finishes and fabrication where required.
Clean Room (cleanroom) Class materials and assembly where required.
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD), EMI, and contamination control.
Automatic Fire Detection and Suppression with Clean Gas suppressants where needed.
Inert gasses and materials for chemistry mixing, spraying, brushing, dipping and application.

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Heavy Industrial Design

We provide Severe-Service Heavy Industrial design for Surface and Underground Mining, Aggregates, Offshore Marine, Agricultural, Plant, Steel Fabrication, Forestry, Logging, Milling and Construction.

Heavy-Duty Hydraulic and Pneumatic system design, including Hydrostatic Drives, Hydraulic Powerpacks, SAHR Brakes, Lifting, Hoisting and Load Control. We can work on one-off prototypes, or design production-quality equipment for rapid production and rugged service.

Some of out key competencies in this industry:

Fail-Safe braking and load hold systems for Overhead Lifting and Manlift applications.
Self-Jigging Weldments for fast assembly and close tolerances.
Hydraulic Manifold design for system integration and enhanced protection and reliability.
Industrial Controls design for stationary and mobile equipment, with IP or NEMA rated designs for environmental exposures such as corrosives and wash-down.
System designs to OSHA, MSHA, ANSI, SAE, CSA, DNV.
Weldments designed to AWS and CWB Standards.
Electrical designed to NFPA 70 (NEC), NFPA 79, EN 60204, or other requirements according to jurisdiction.
CAD and Solid Modeling capabilities.

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Automation Systems

Solve those difficult assembly or packaging problems with simplified innovation. Automated systems developed for:

Assembly, Conveying, Sorting, Palletizing, Packaging, Labeling, Mailing and Shipping.
Fixturing, assembly and articulated platforms for Heavy Industrial, Automotive and Aircraft Servicing and Manufacturing.
Warehousing or Manufacturing Conveyors, Monorails, Cranes, Hoists, Sorters.
Cellular or Linear Manufacturing development to improve workflow and throughput to reach Just-in-Time (JIT), Lean or Six-Sigma goals.
Food-Grade design and material where required.
Systems may be designed to comply with North American Standards or European Standards. Designs may include a technical file created for OSHA NRTL testing (Commonly called UL Listed, CSA, TUV, and ETL Listing), Field Label approval or CE marking, to make it easier and faster to have Systems installed, inspected, and released on-line for production.

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Additional Services

The Lakes System Design team has "grown up" in an era where we once swore we'd never draft faster on a computer than we could on a board, and now can render 3D models of objects that don't exist yet, and test the fit-up and machinability.

We've worked for small start-up companies and large international corporations. Our team members are experts in developing projects and packages not only with excellent performance, maintainability and Return on Investment, but Systems and Engineering Packages that will make your company look professional.

Our engineering packages can include:

Initial proposal packages for developing a project budget and timeline.
Engineering Assembly and Piece Parts Drawings and Bills of Material.
Safety Risk Analysis and Mitigation recommendations.
Technical Files for submittal to Compliance Engineering groups.
Complete Operator, Maintenance, Installation and Engineering Documentation.
Complete On-Site or Web-Enabled training packages.
Secure Project Servers to allow international collaboration.
Engineering packages can be quoted for Manufacturing, Assembly, and Installation Worldwide. We can ship and import worldwide according to common INCO Terms.
Fixtures, Chemical Handling and Delivery, Support Equipment and Facility Systems can also be designed-in or developed separately.
New or refurbished systems can be integrated into existing equipment, with attention paid to using common spare parts, control systems and software.

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Company Profile

From the World's Smallest Components ...

Lakes Design Group has years of experience developing automated production lines for industries such as Wafer and Chip, Hard Drive and Printed Circuit Boards. Our scope may include a simple process automation step, or lights-out Factory of the Future (FOF) system development.

We can design completely new product lines, or integrate existing systems and tools to improve workflow, yield, throughput and ergonomics.

Our development professionals have industry experience not only to successfully automate your current process, but also to help solve difficult process problems - from coating and corrosion resistance to wire bonding, lapping, cleaning, and protecting from ESD.

We develop a relationship with you and your local equipment vendor to provide accurate, reliable tool designs. We train your production and maintenance staff to be self-sufficient in operating and maintaining the equipment. We work with your local vendor to establish a spare parts program and local technical support for fast economical maintenance and repairs.

During the first new system build, Lakes Design Group works onsite with your local fabricator to ensure high-quality fabrication and assembly goes into your tool. At the same time, we are training your vendor and maintenance staff to maintain and repair the technology that has been introduced.

Before the system has even been installed in your facility, you have an internal staff that intimately knows how to maintain and repair your new equipment, and a local vendor that can provide spare parts, repairs and upgrades.

This formula for success is the best solution to reduce your initial Capital Equipment costs, as well as dramatically reducing your operating costs, as well as improving your company's ability to remain self-sufficient.

To the World's Largest Machines ...

We also have a background in the severe-service heavy industrial equipment industry, including designs that have set Guinness Book of World Records.

Our designs are in use Worldwide in the Offshore Oil and Mining industries. Some of our Safety Innovations have been adopted as requirements by Government and Corporate organizations, and continue to save lives every day.

Compliance and Safety Exceeding Industry Expectations ...

Lakes Design Group incorporates International regulatory requirements into all designs, including NFPA 79, 70, 30, 318; SEMI S2, S8, S22, EN60204 (for CE marked tools) and other standards as needed for proper design.

We can also incorporate your internal SOP for equipment design-build, and train your local fabricators and vendors to meet your requirements consistently, at a substantial cost savings. We can work with the necessary 3rd party evaluators to manage the review and certify your equipment.

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