Who We Are
Our team manages the overarching planning, management, and day-to-day operations of TSP at sites in Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, and Maine. Our dedication and strong work ethic have garnered awards from AAMI, 24x7 Magazine, Biomedical Instrumentation and Technology, American College of Clinical Engineering, and the Vermont Council for Quality.
To deliver the best in research enterprise and health care technology management services, we invest in the most qualified Biomedical Equipment Technicians (BMETs) and Clinical Engineers. Both play key roles in the effective management of your complete Health Care Technology Life Cycle.
Staff
Michael Lane, Director
Michael attended the University of Vermont (UVM) obtaining a BS in Electrical Engineering with a Biomedical concentration. After receiving his Bachelors, Michael obtained a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at UVM. Prior to assuming the role of Director, he served as the Associate Director for Instrumentation and Technical Services (ITS), which includes the Technical Services Partnership (TSP).
Carl Silver, Research Engineer
Growing up in Springfield, Vermont — "Precision Valley" — where his father was a machinist instructor, Carl started his career twenty-five years ago with Fellows Corporation where he completed his machinist apprentice program. Following prototyping and volume machining experience for local firms in Burlington, he came to IMFLabs in 1995.
Floyd Vilmont, Research Engineer
Floyd began his machining career in the oil fields of West Texas, before moving to Vermont to work with local manufacturing companies. He joined us the summer of 2024 from the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences here at UVM after serving as the Prototype Lab Manager and Instructor for 20 years. There he worked closely with faculty to design and build research equipment and mentored students with their senior designs.
What We Do
Our Clients
For over fifty years, IMFLabs (formerly the Instrumentation and Model Facility) has designed and fabricated custom instruments, models, and prototypes for researchers, scientists and engineers, inventors, educators, entrepreneurs and private individuals with a great idea.
We work with, among others:
- Academic research labs
- Community maker spaces
- Hospitals and health care facilities
- Local manufacturing companies
- Schools
- Start-up companies
- Technical and scientific companies
Our Facilities and Engineers
IMFLabs' facilities include a 3,500-square-foot fully equiped machine shop and design space. Depending on your requirements, we can fabricate a single custom part or instrument, or conduct a small-volume production run.
IMFLabs' engineers and technicians employ skills in mechanical, electrical, optical, and programming disciplines to solve application problems for customers as well as fabrication in our state-of-the-art facilities.
UVM Innovators
IMFLabs actively supports academic researchers at UVM and the UVM Innovations (technology commercialization) office.
In addition to research instrumentation for funded studies, IMFLabs develops prototypes to help inventors make “real world” instruments.
This experience is unique and valuable in working with emerging technology companies in their quest to rapidly get products to the marketplace.
Examples of Our Work
- antibiotic bead molds used in the treatment of musculoskeletal infections
- high-energy molecular measurement system for Argonne National Laboratory
- high-temperature, high-pressure instrument developed for meteorite studies
- optomechanical "laser trap" system first used to measure the contraction force between two muscle molecules
- SutureDart™, an efficient and accurate one-step suture-passing device that minimizes bone tunnel diameter
Our History
IMFLabs — originally called "The Instrumentation & Model Facility (IMF)" — was established by Dr. Norman Alpert in 1969. As chairman of the University of Vermont (UVM) Department of Physiology, he recognized an acute need for custom instrumentation to complete his research studies.
UVM already had several small shops on campus in engineering and life sciences, but it was Dr. Alpert's vision to create a centralized, comprehensive instrumentation design and fabrication facility on campus to serve all research units. He recruited George Luhr, an instrument maker he had worked with in the Chicago area, to come to Vermont to lead the facility. A grant was procured to provide a complete machine shop, electronic instrumentation for design and fabrication, and other related resources.
The facility was originally located in the UVM Royal Tyler Annex and moved to its current location at 280 East Avenue in 1980.
In 1995, IMFLabs purchased a CAD system, SOLIDWORKS, to be able to design in 3D and move design work into the digital realm. Four years later, new computerized milling machines were purchased. In 2001, a computer-aided manufacturing software package, CAMworks, was purchased, which provided a direct interface from the CAD software to the computerized milling machines. Thus, a part or device designed on CAD could be automatically produced by the mill. In 2007, due to the increased need for volume parts and instruments to serve start-up companies and small technology firms in Vermont, IMFLabs purchased a Hurco VM1 machining center — a system with automatic tool-changing capability that enables small production runs to be accomplished efficiently.
In addition to electronics engineering, expertise in microcontrollers, computer programming, wireless sensors, and advanced instrument design was added in 2007. An Objet Geometrics Polyject 3D printing system was added in 2009 for concept and physical modeling as well as instrument/parts fabrication. 3D printing capabilities were upgraded in 2021 with an Ultimaker S3.