MEAN WELL is proud to announce that the University of Calgary's GridWinder engineering team has been awarded the prestigious Gold Prize at their 2026 Capstone Engineering Design Fair.

Sponsored by MEAN WELL's Educational Institution Sponsorship Program, the team utilized high-performance power solutions to develop a revolutionary manufacturing method for custom carbon fiber fabrics.





The GridWinder Project: Redefining Composite Manufacturing

The GridWinder project addressed a significant challenge in engineering: the limitations of current composite manufacturing, which often results in material waste and suboptimal strength-to-weight ratios. The team developed a novel gantry system with a winding head that creates fabrics by winding fibers around pins, allowing for precise, customized fiber orientations.

To bring this complex system to life, the team required a reliable, high-capacity power source. MEAN WELL provided two units of LRS-350 24V power supplies, which served as the heartbeat of the project. These units successfully powered:

• A Duet3 CNC controller board for precision movement.
• Three NEMA-23 stepper motors and a gantry system.
• Heaters and pneumatic solenoids, with the heating system isolated on its own PSU for maximum safety and performance.

     


Supporting the Next Generation of Engineers

"I wanted to sincerely thank you... for your support in sponsoring GridWinder," said Vishnu Dhanda, the project lead from the University of Calgary." In particular, I want to thank you for providing the MEAN WELL 350W PSU. Without it, we would have not been able to power our project."

The GridWinder team consisted of members specializing in mechanical, software, and electrical engineering. Their success marks a significant milestone in MEAN WELL's mission to provide students and engineering groups with the industrial-grade tools they need to turn ambitious concepts into reality.





More About MEAN WELL Sponsorship Program

MEAN WELL is committed to fostering innovation within educational institutions. By providing reliable power supply products to student engineering groups, we aim to support technical breakthroughs that solve real-world problems.

For more information on the MEAN WELL Educational Institution Sponsorship Program, please contact our Marketing Team at marketing@meanwellusa.com.