Engineering Solutions, Real-World Results.

The EUV-SK1 is an emergency use ventilator designed, built and certified in Saskatoon. When COVID-19 threatened to outstrip provincial healthcare capacity, RMD worked with the University of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Health Authority to take the device from concept through Health Canada's COVID-19 Medical Device Authorization process.

The project required more than building the hardware. RMD developed the supporting documentation, risk analysis, verification work and manufacturing controls needed for authorization, drawing on its existing quality systems to move the project through development and production.

The program was later carried forward through RMD's alumni company, One Health Medical Technologies, which received authorization to manufacture the device. The Saskatchewan Health Authority approved the purchase of 100 EUV-SK1 units, and the project received APEGS' Exceptional Engineering/Geoscience Project Award in 2024.

EARL is an overhead rehabilitation lift for horses with leg injuries or other conditions that prevent them from carrying their full weight. The Equine Assistive Rehabilitation Lift, was developed through a collaboration between RMD Engineering and researchers at the University of Saskatchewan's Western College of Veterinary Medicine. The project began with a difficult problem in equine medicine: horses with severe limb injuries can struggle to remain mobile while putting enough weight on an injured limb to heal. Shifting too much weight onto the remaining limbs can also create additional complications, including supporting-limb laminitis.

A bridge and trolley carry a rotating turntable with two independent hoists, one supporting the front quarters and one supporting the hind quarters. Each hoist incorporates a load cell, allowing the system to measure how much weight is being carried and adjust the amount of support provided.

The system can operate in a weight-compensation mode, where it supports a controlled portion of the horse's weight while allowing the animal to remain mobile. It can also operate as a conventional crane for positioning and handling. The operator controls the system through a wired handset, while the load-monitoring system provides feedback on the forces being carried by the two support points.

RMD's work on EARL therefore sits at the intersection of mechanical engineering, biomechanics and veterinary research rather than simply being a custom lifting system. The project later became part of the technology portfolio of One Health Medical Technologies (OHMTech).

The Canadian Light Source asked RMD to design and build an interactive art installation for Nuit Blanche, representing a synchrotron at approximately 10 ft tall and 5 ft across.

The concept used programmable LEDs to represent electrons moving through the ring. Because programmable lighting was outside RMD's usual industrial work, the project began with research into suitable lighting methods and controls before moving into fabrication and assembly.

The installation was designed as an outdoor piece, making weather one of the project's considerations. It was a different application of RMD's engineering, fabrication and controls capabilities, but the underlying process was familiar: define the requirements, work through the technical risks and build something that has to function in the real world.

RMD structurally rebuilt and refurbished a hydraulic bovine tilt table used in veterinary work. The table restrains a standing animal and rotates it to a horizontal position, allowing clinicians to work on hooves, limbs and the underside of the animal without working beneath a standing animal.

The refurbishment required the table to be stripped down so individual components and load paths could be assessed. RMD documented the condition before and after the work and returned the equipment with an updated as-built record.

The project is part of RMD's longer relationship with veterinary researchers and institutions, which has included animal positioning systems, lifts, restraints and other specialized equipment.

Specialized equipment developed by RMD for a medical rehabilitation pilot program, built alongside local health entities and community centres.

RMD designed and manufactured a heavy-load Large Animal Positioning System and a highly stable Camera Positioning System for biomedical beamline work at a national synchrotron facility.

The system had to support significant loads while providing controlled positioning for research work. RMD's design incorporated a four-column servo lift, two turntables and multiple Bosch drives, with interlocks built into the control system. The system was also validated using a laser measuring system to confirm positioning performance.

The result was a purpose-built positioning system capable of handling the physical demands of large-animal research while meeting the precision requirements of a live beamline environment.

RMD fabricated, assembled, tested and installed an elliptical polarizing undulator for a synchrotron beamline, working to the facility's engineering drawings.

Before fabrication began, RMD reviewed the drawings for manufacturing issues and planned the machining and assembly work around the tight tolerances involved. Some machining was performed in a temperature-controlled environment, and a laser measuring system was used to verify critical dimensions.

Flatness measurements for the high- and low-energy girders were recorded in a quality-control report and provided to the client. The project combined large-scale fabrication with the measurement, documentation and assembly discipline required for scientific research equipment.

RMD built a large-scale nebulizer for veterinary researchers to deliver an immune-stimulating treatment to chicks at a commercial hatchery on the day of hatch, as an alternative to antibiotics for first-week infections.

The challenge was delivering a consistent treatment across large groups of chicks. Over six sets of field trials in Saskatchewan and British Columbia, the team adjusted fan speed, chamber height and humidity to improve distribution across the treatment area.

The system ultimately used approximately 1,700 CFM of airflow and was tuned to maintain an even treatment environment across the chicks. The work combined mechanical design, airflow, controls and field testing in a working hatchery environment.

In 2016 and 2017, RMD designed and built a gel injection system for FireIce firefighting gel, including the control system, and tested the equipment with data logging.

The project involved developing equipment capable of handling and controlling gel injection as part of a firefighting application. RMD's work included the mechanical system, controls and testing needed to evaluate the equipment in operation.

In 2020, the design documentation was transferred to Gel Systems Canada. RMD also supported Gel Systems Canada with equipment and testing work in 2020 and 2021.

Rock Stop Pro began as a 2014 project for the City of Saskatoon's Shaw Centre pool. RMD studied research into swimming starts and reviewed the existing starting blocks before developing a new block design.

The design incorporated a numbered kick-plate adjustment system, allowing swimmers to position the starting surface consistently. RMD had the components hydrojet cut and developed the block around the requirements identified during the design process.

A 2016 project supplied additional Rock Stop blocks to the City of Saskatoon.

The Wireless E-Stop is an RMD product: a worker-worn emergency stop that drops power to a machine instantly. It's designed, engineered and manufactured in house. The lightweight remote modules run on licence-free bands and cover up to 400 metres.

A conventional emergency stop assumes the person who needs it can walk to it. A worker caught in a conveyor or auger often can't. Putting the stop on the worker instead of the wall removes the distance.

RMD has delivered approximately 265 work packages for underground mining fleets, including FOPS structures, continuous miner rebuilds, and code-designed lifting hardware. Much of the work focuses on closing the gap between the equipment as catalogued and the machine the mine actually needs in cramped and abrasive conditions.

Certified lifting equipment, such as three-man personnel carriers, requires calculated design, inspected builds, and periodic recertification. RMD builds these systems new and recertifies them in service, ensuring the structural records meet strict inspection requirements long after the initial build.

RMD developed a whole plant harvester to strip foliage from standing hemp, moving from a blank sheet design to a working prototype in approximately four weeks. Performance was systematically validated by weighing plants before and after stripping, rather than judging efficiency by eye.

Five machine iterations were built and field-tested in rapid succession, with each version addressing real-world observations from the crop. The team continuously adjusted stripping geometry, angles, and rotor speeds, a rapid iteration cycle made possible by having engineering and manufacturing under the same roof.

RMD designed and built a serialized fleet of aluminum aircraft maintenance stands and custom tooling for an aerial firefighting operator. The broader program also covered an engine stand for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency's CL-215T and prop stand concepts.

The design drew heavily on Saskatchewan occupational health and safety regulations and scaffold standards. Every stand was built, inspected, and photographed before shipping, ensuring the customer received a fully documented, serialized asset ready for immediate service.

RMD builds Bremsstrahlung converters and the surrounding equipment used in the production chain for medical isotopes for patient imaging. The scope includes target cutter machines, cold sublimation systems, tipping towers, and ultra-high-vacuum test blocks.

Materials were strictly chosen for strength and performance under both irradiation and vacuum conditions. Because operational cleanliness is highly functional in this environment, precision handling and surface finishing are treated with the same importance as the machining itself.

RMD developed a replacement drive system for a rotary dryer used in potash processing. The project began with design work in 2006, followed by production and installation work in 2007.

The work extended beyond the drive itself. RMD subsequently produced and supported components including dryer shafts, drive wheels, tires, hanger bearings, a gear reducer and a titanium fan.

The project demonstrates the kind of long-term equipment support that often follows an initial engineering and manufacturing job: designing a component, building it, then continuing to supply and improve the equipment as operating requirements evolve.

The structure pictured is a cage deck for a potash mine shaft. RMD designed it. A fabrication shop built it, and in October 2014 we went to that shop to look over the construction before certifying it. We asked for the weld procedures, material test reports and welder tickets as part of the record, and listed the small fixes needed before release.

RMD engineered and built a complete post-harvest processing line—including conveying, pelletising, and drying equipment—deployed for client operations in both Canada and the US. The work was managed as a formal project, completed with a signed procedure and an inspection test plan at handover.

Because the material enters wet and heavy but leaves dry and dusty, the system's transfer points, airflow, and surfaces were uniquely tailored for each stage. Dust collection and filtration were integrated from the beginning, with cleandown access treated as a core requirement rather than an afterthought.

RMD upgraded production machinery that predated modern guarding and control expectations, addressing both physical access and machine behaviour.

One of the first changes was a variable frequency drive that allowed the roll machine to operate at a lower speed. Flow control was also added to the air cylinder so the retention arm engaged more slowly. RMD developed a control philosophy and verified the emergency-stop system as part of the upgrade.

The work shows how older production equipment can be brought into a safer operating configuration without replacing the entire machine.

The photographs are from the launch. RMD supported a university research team sending scientific payloads to the edge of the atmosphere on a high-altitude balloon.

RMD built packaged hydronic heating skids in 2018 and 2019, including a boiler make-up water skid for a potash site.

The skids were piped to client drawings and passed through documented material, paint and inspection requirements before delivery. Design changes were managed through formal requests during production, including a pump connection that was changed to 3 inches during the 2019 project.

Building and testing the systems in the shop allowed the piping, documentation and inspection work to be completed before the equipment reached site.

RMD Engineering serves as a primary, long-term manufacturing and refurbishment partner for SaskPower's field operations and generating facilities. Operating from a secure, Saskatchewan-based facility, RMD executes precision manufacturing, reverse engineering, and custom assembly under a stringent ISO 9001:2015 quality management program. The partnership is structured to build local capacity, ensure supply chain stability, and support multi-year utility infrastructure initiatives.

The work spans Boundary Dam, Poplar River, Shand and Landis, including journals, oil coolers, feeder couplings, separator components, multiports, VSA components, clevises and classifier cones. RMD has also supplied lifting and pallet-related equipment as part of the broader program.

It is a good example of the role RMD often plays for industrial clients: not simply delivering one machine, but providing engineering, machining, fabrication and repair capacity across a long-running equipment program.

A material-handling carousel system built in 1986 and moved to a new facility in 1996 was experiencing increasing failures. The equipment needed to remain in service for potentially another ten years, so the first step was determining what was actually causing the problems.

RMD carried out a two-report inspection of the system. The investigation identified cracked and eroded rail track, uneven repair welds, missing spacers and incorrectly positioned linkages that were contributing to drive-sprocket failures.

Rather than jumping directly to replacement work, the inspection established the condition of the system and provided the information needed for a longer-term reliability improvement plan.

A bowling centre had approximately 14 pinsetters with exposed belts, pulleys, chains, sprockets and pinch points that operators could encounter while clearing jams.

RMD designed and built guarding and access ladders for both 5-pin and 10-pin equipment, addressing the physical hazards while keeping the machines accessible for operation and maintenance.

Later work included rake repairs and other mechanical improvements, extending the project beyond the initial guarding work.

RMD engineered, built, and installed a complete modular powder coating system, integrating the spray booth, cure oven, material handling, and controls into a single package. The system was assembled and function-tested in the shop to minimize site work to final placement and connection.

By designing the booth airflow, oven temperature profile, and line speed in unison, the system delivers a highly repeatable finish. RMD continues to support the installation with scheduled maintenance, oven repairs, and fume extraction services.

RMD designed and built low- and high-energy translation tables for an X-ray diffraction beamline at a national synchrotron. Each table uses independent stepper drives on parallel support structures to swing an aluminum girder through a pseudo-arc, keeping optical components aligned without a rotating joint in the load path.

Stiffness was the primary requirement, demanding deflection remain below 0.05 mm under a 500 kg distributed load and a 50 kg overhang. The structures were fully verified using finite element analysis and factory acceptance testing to ensure thermal growth and dynamic loads do not shift the positioning.

Working closely with a university prostate research group, RMD designed a custom positioning system for imaging at a national synchrotron. The rigid frame holds a surgical cradle upright at a 75-degree angle, safely restraining the animal and carrying the anaesthetic supply during slow vertical-axis rotation.

All components near the beam were constructed from light, radiation-hardened materials to prevent degradation and avoid clouding the image. Following early design reviews, the system was refined to reduce weight and incorporate handling improvements based directly on the research group's operational feedback.

Melvin is an automated wall panel fabrication machine engineered and built by RMD. Weighing 41,000 lb, the steel truss gantry operates across 36 ft by 15 ft panels, integrating a vacuum lifter for drywall sheets and a substantial four-cyclone dust collection system right from the initial design.

The heavy frame guarantees rigidity over a long span while the carriage operates at production speeds. Since building the 2.0 version in 2019, RMD has continued developing the system and actively supports the installations with panel assembly modifications, spindle repairs, and critical spare parts.

Charles is an automated EIFS panel fabrication machine built around a heavy steel truss frame that carries a 6-inch foam cutter across panels up to 36 ft by 15 ft. The 31,000 lb system also includes a 4-inch dust line to remove cuttings efficiently during continuous operation.

The cutter leverages modified dado blades that demand a strict 5,000 rpm operating limit, which RMD explicitly documents in a traveling parameter notice to prevent unsafe adjustments. RMD continues to keep the equipment running by supplying replacement cutters, saw blades, and performing necessary service alongside its sister machines.

Lorraine is an automated, five-axis panel spraying machine designed to consistently apply stucco and paint to finished wall panels up to 15 ft by 36 ft. To streamline production, operators program panel dimensions, window openings, and returns using conversational screens entirely without G-code.

The machine uses a 5-to-10-gallon pressure pot for stucco alongside a 3,200 psi paint pump, with a laser locating system ensuring precise alignment. RMD supplied comprehensive manuals detailing physical limitations and rigorous cleaning schedules, and continues to provide spray kit modifications and parts to support operations.

RMD built a servo-driven gantry machine with four 10,000 rpm spindles to drill holes in foam panels. The system relies on a belt-driven gantry, a C axis, a conveyor infeed, and an adjustable fence to ensure that every drilled hole is perfectly square and evenly spaced.

During commissioning, RMD identified minor deviations and implemented mechanical adjustments—including shimming drills, fitting stopper bolts, and adding belt tensioners—to optimize accuracy at higher operating speeds. The equipment shipped with a clear written levelling procedure to help operators spot issues before producing scrap.