Machine Shop

Regulations and operational policies for use of the student machine shop:

• Shop Safety: No person is allowed in the machining area of the MIE shop until a series of safety training initiatives has been completed. The student shop machinists have the right to suspend shop access to any person due to safety concerns or misbehavior. The machine shop is a work area – only people who are actually machining may gain access. Regulations such as no cell-phones, no jewelry, no loose clothing or hair, proper footwear, and safe machining practices are strictly enforced according to the interpretation of the professional supervisors. All regulations covered in the safety seminars must be followed at all times.
• Student use of Shop Facilities: The student must bring a clear drawing of the machining work to be done (either carefully hand-drawn, or composed with a drawing package such as AutoCAD or SolidWorks). No student is allowed access just to “watch” or “guide” a friend. Each student must work alone on a machine without any distractions from other students; requests for assistance should be made directly to the student shop machinists. There are no chairs available for relaxation or discussions – each student is expected to work steadily at machining operations and then clock out of the machine shop to free up access for other students.
• Shop Usage Monitoring: Student machining time will be tracked by an automated database. When a student requests a tool cutter kit (kits are locked up and only given out by the student shop machinists) for use on a specific machine, the student will surrender his/her student T-card to the attending student shop machinists for swiping in. When the student is finished machining and has cleaned up to the satisfaction of the student shop machinists, the T-card will be swiped out and returned to the student. The number of hours used will then be billed to the student’s home department. There is no charge to the student.
• Accounting/Shop Charges: Small pieces of aluminum, steel, and metal fasteners are provided at no charge; major pieces of material such as steel or aluminum are provided at cost if we have them in stock.  Access to cutting tools such as standard drill bits and end mills are provided at no charge. Brief engineering design consultations and guidance on machine operation are provided at no charge. More extensive assistance on engineering designs from the machine shop professional staff on engineering designs may be purchased by the hour if they have time available.