Research Shop
on-campus core facility | professional instrument design and fabrication | graduate student machine shop training
Engineering & Production
Located in the Technological Institute, the Research Shop consists of three unites for providing services to the Research community:
The Design & Engineering Shop provides professional design and engineering services including student design and engineering advice (no fee), engineering design consulting (fee-based), and fabrication drawings (fee-based).
The Professional Shop is a fully-equipped machine shop where professional machinists fabricate components and instruments on a fee basis. Outsourcing to external vendors for nearly all industrial fabrication processes is available
The Student Shop is a maker space where users can receive machine and tools training, and build their own projects. Professional fabrication advice is available during business hours. Access is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, provided safety requirements are met. Trained safety monitors are present during some of these hours, and accompaniment by a trained buddy is required during others. Classes in machine shop tools usage and shop safety are offered at no cost.
Available Equipment & Services
Design & Engineering Shop
- Student design, engineering, fabrication and materials selection advice (no fee)
- Customer design, engineering, fabrication and materials selection consulting (fee-basis)
- CAD & DFM student advice
- CAD & DFM customer consulting (fee-basis)
- Electromechanical design engineering advice and customer consulting
Professional Shop
- CNC and manual milling
- CNC and manual turning (lathe)
- Drilling, boring, threading
- Surface grinding
- Wire and ram EDM (electrical discharge machining)
- TIG welding (vacuum applications)
- Orbital welding (VCR fittings)
- Stick, spot, gas welding and brazing
- Sheet metal fabrication and woodworking
- Glassblowing (Off-site non-NU vendor)
- Outsourcing of nearly all industrial fabrication processes for standard and exotic materials.
Student Shop
- Shop safety and machine use training
- Conversational 3-axis mill
- Conversational 2-axis mill
- Super precision lathes
- Grinders
- Drill presses
- Work space and in-process project storage
- Materials selection and fabrication advice
- Off-hour use safety and responsibilities training
Training
All users of the Student Shop are required to take a training course. Contact Salomon Rodriguez for course details and scheduling.
Location
Northwestern Technological Institute
2145 Sheridan Road
Evanston, Il, 60208
Ground Floor, N Wing, NG-46