Home > Undergraduate Program > Projects & Research > Labs

Undergraduate Labs

There are various facilities available to students in MEAM that provide the necessary support for undergraduate lab experimentation,  project design and analysis, as well as prototype design, development and testing.  These facilities are located in the Towne Building and consist of the following laboratories.

Design and Prototyping Laboratory

The Design and Prototyping Laboratory provides prototype manufacturing capabilities in support of student design activities.  It provides students the equipment necessary to fabricate a wide range of prototypes from the simple one off prototype to the more complex mechanism.  It consists of three separate lab/shop areas,

Student Machine Shop

The student machine shop provides both conventional and computer controlled (CNC) machining capabilities. Equipment available for use include,  CNC vertical milling machines, conventional mills and lathes, horizontal and vertical bandsaws, drill presses, grinders and belt sanders. A wide assortment of metal and plastics stock is also available for purchase by students for their projects.

Laser Cutting Lab

This lab contains two Universal Laser X-660 laser systems that allow students the ability to cut various nonmetallic materials. Four dedicated PC workstations that are networked to the laser systems are available to provide CAD support for part design and fabrication on these systems. This lab also houses our sheet metal fabrication equipment (shear and brake), a vacuum forming machine and injection molding machine.

Welding Lab

This lab area provides various types of welding capabilities utilizing oxy-acetylene, TIG and MIG welding equipment along with other metal fabrication equipment including a spot welder, bead blaster and buffer.

General Motors Laboratory

This laboratory was established in 1988 with a grant from the General Motors Corporation. The lab is utilized to support various undergraduate lab courses and individual students working on various independent student projects.  It currently contains 22 PC workstations with the most current software available for design, analysis and testing of electronic and mechanical systems. A complete selection of electronic test equipment is available for use including oscilloscopes, function generators, power supplies, multimeters, etc.  A light fabrication area is also available for creating prototypes and mock-ups of design concepts. This area includes basic manufacturing equipment such as a drill press, belt sander, and bandsaw, along with ample bench space for assembly and testing.

PACE Laboratory

This laboratory serves as a high-end interdisciplinary computation and design space to serve a wide range of interests within both the educational and research environment.  Sponsored by the PACE program, the laboratory contains 19 PCs running some of the most advanced computer-aided design, manufacturing, and simulation tools available, including NX5, MD/Nastran 2.1, MD/Adams, Fluent, and Altair Hyperworks.  The lab is also home to a new Dimension Elite fused-deposition rapid prototyping machine.

Undergraduate Experimentation Laboratory

This lab is utilized to support various undergraduate lab courses. It provides an area for students to complete laboratory experiments utilizing various apparatus and data acquisition systems.

Student Project Laboratory

This project laboratory is utilized to support various extra curricular student activities such as the Formula SAE  project and the Electric Vehicle project.  This lab also houses the department’s wind tunnel for research and education in the area of aerodynamics.

Service Center Machine Shop

In support of both education and research, the department provides a service center machine shop. This shop is staffed by a full time machinist  that can provide design and fabrication services at a reasonable cost to faculty, staff and students.