The Department of Physics, Engineering and Astronomy machine shop is maintained within the department to provide in-house fabrication services to support the instructional and research activities of the department faculty and students. Shop services are also made available to other academic departments and the Physical Plant when shop time can be made available between departmental projects. Users from other departments can provide their own materials and will be charged at a rate of $40 per hour of shop time and for the replacement cost of shop materials and consumable supplies used on their project. Proceeds will be used to help fund shop facility maintenance.

The machine shop employs one full-time scientific machinist and one part-time student assistant.

Shop Services

Department students and faculty can use the machine shop to provide a variety of services including: design development assistance, technical drawing, machining, welding, assembly, maintenance, troubleshooting, repair and modification of instructional and research support equipment, approved student projects, scientific instruments and supporting structures.

Safety is the highest concern in the machine shop. Department students and faculty can learn to safely and properly use shop equipment with one-on-one instruction, demonstration and supervision by the machinist.

For shop availability or to learn more about the machine shop, contact the machinist, Clay Watts.

Facilities

The machine shop is located in the Cole STEM Building, room 104. With an area of 1003 square feet, it houses both modern, computer controlled, traditional and manual metalworking machine tools, a woodworking shop and a welding and brazing workstation.

Metalworking equipment:

  • horizontal and vertical band saws
  • CNC plasma cutting table
  • drill press
  • hydraulic press
  • magnetic sheet-metal brake 
  • buffer
  • manual and CNC metal cutting lathes
  • milling machines
  • various hand tools

Woodshop equipment:

  • panel saw
  • table saw
  • drill press
  • belt and disk sanders
  • CNC router table
  • dust-collector system

Welding and brazing station equipment:

  • welding fixture table
  • fixture clamps
  • vise
  • metal inert gas welder
  • tungsten inert gas welder
  • acetylene-oxygen welding and heating torches
  • grinders
  • snorkel welding fume exhaust fan

Fabrication Projects