I’m not sure that is accurate. There are lots of Alberta Aero and Defense businesses making drones.
Are you sure we’d have to import all that?
Motors are easy. There’s a place in my city that rewinds motors, casting and machining would be needed, but Canada has excellent machine shops in Ontario and spread across other places.
Drone (quad copters) motors are an entirely different beast from normal AC electric motors used in industry. The core is a stack of stamped steel lamination that are ~30mm wide, special dies would need to be manufactured for those. They require special machines to wind because the stator is inside the rotor and it is so small. They need crazy small ball bearing that are only manufactured overseas.
And the same goes for the electronics. No one In Canada manufactures micro-controllers, MEMS sensors, or power electronics that would be needed for the flight controllers and motor drives.
It would be like manufacturing an entire line of 100% Canadian home appliances, there are 1000 sub-parts that we just do not make here.
I’m not sure that is accurate. There are lots of Alberta Aero and Defense businesses making drones.
Are you sure we’d have to import all that?
Motors are easy. There’s a place in my city that rewinds motors, casting and machining would be needed, but Canada has excellent machine shops in Ontario and spread across other places.
Canada produces its own Prepreg Carbon.
Etc
Drone (quad copters) motors are an entirely different beast from normal AC electric motors used in industry. The core is a stack of stamped steel lamination that are ~30mm wide, special dies would need to be manufactured for those. They require special machines to wind because the stator is inside the rotor and it is so small. They need crazy small ball bearing that are only manufactured overseas.
And the same goes for the electronics. No one In Canada manufactures micro-controllers, MEMS sensors, or power electronics that would be needed for the flight controllers and motor drives.
It would be like manufacturing an entire line of 100% Canadian home appliances, there are 1000 sub-parts that we just do not make here.
We could though, Windsor is king of tool and die expertise. So the stamped metal would not be an issue at all.
And I’ve seen lots of custom machinery and automation in Canada.
The other stuff we could get into. And should. Canada needs a shift from Automotive to something else so we are less reliant on USA.