The Engineering Division’s experienced engineers and technicians are actively engaged in the design and fabrication of a variety of metal products including functional machine prototypes. The available infrastructure for accomplishing this work includes: a machine shop equipped with a lathe; shaping, shearing and grinding machines; an array of welding machines used for sharpening, cutting, turning, joining and other related metal finishing processes.

In addition to machining and fabrication, the Engineering Division is also responsible for the day-to-day operation, maintenance and repair of the institute’s pilot plants and the installation and commissioning of off-site processing facilities. The Engineering team has also developed the capability to design and implement processing and production plant modifications.

One of the Engineering Division’s key functions is to ensure production process optimality by increasing production rates; improving production efficiency; and upgrading/ replacing obsolete and underperforming machinery and equipment.

The Engineering Division also facilitates the implementation of projects managed under UIRI’s Production Systems and Product Development departments, by offering technical support services. These include: machine design and rating; technology selection; project and equipment costing; and the preparation of machinery and equipment procurement specifications.

Also under the Engineering Division is the Wood Technology unit responsible for a variety of carpentry works. These include routine repair and maintenance on campus as well as the design and fabrication of a range of commercially viable wood-based products.

 

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Technology

Modern electrical systems are based on the use of electronic components and circuits with the capability to perform programmable logic operations. Printed Circuit Board (PCB) technology enables high-precision, high-volume production of reliable electronic circuits for a wide range of products.

The technology renders computer software-designed circuit pathways onto boards (single or double-sided) to produce templates which are then transformed into functional circuits by the insertion of electrical and electronic components.

The institute’s incentive to acquire PCB production technology resides in the fact that it is an essential prerequisite to the development of Uganda’s electronics industry. It is important to note that all electronic products (from calculators to computers) are currently imported and, yet some of these could locally be manufactured affordably. Accordingly, the introduction of PCB technology is expected to lay the foundation for a local electronics industry leading to import substitution.