Completion of Machine Shop Rebuild Project
8/31/2009
Figure 1: Refurbished: DoAll Vertical
Bandsaw
Figure 2: Refurbished: Bridgeport Vertical Mill
Figure 3: Rebuilt: Cincinnati
Horizontal/Vertical Mill
Figure 4: Rebuilt: Browne &
Sharpe Reciprocating Grinder
Figure 5: New: Clausing 20” Drill
Press with Albrecht Keyless Chuck
Figure 6: New: Clausing Colchester
15” Geared Head Lathe
Figure 7: New: JET 9” Lathe
Figure 8: As-Is: Precision Drill Press
with new Albrecht Keyless Chuck
Figure 9: As-Is: Cleereman Heavy
Duty Drill Press
The end of August marks the completion of a major capital investment and improvement project at Carleton Laboratory, namely the renovation of the machine shop. The return of the Brown & Sharpe reciprocating grinder and Cincinnati Horizontal/Vertical mill complete the suite of rebuilt, reconditioned, and replaced machinery, making the Carleton Machine Shop once again a fully outfitted heavy ferrous machining center. The refurbishment will allow Carleton to provide higher tolerances in heavy machining, a necessity for many research applications today. It will also allow the lab to be more responsive to the needs of active researchers in the laboratory. A cost-benefit study for each machine tool has allowed us to make the ideal choice for each machine, i.e. keep as-is, refurbish, rebuild, or replace. This has allowed Carleton Laboratory to retain high quality machines while replacing those that no longer fulfill modern quality, serviceability, and safety standards.
Students get to enjoy the new facilities as well, especially when they participate in the AISC Steel Bridge Competition or Engineers without Borders. Both of these activities allow students to extensively use these facilities during the fabrication component of their projects.
The new facilities will allow Carleton Laboratory to tackle the challenges of the future as the department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics pushes forward in the areas of sustainable infrastructure management, structural health monitoring and damage detection, green roof technology, wastewater management, as well as recycled and smart building materials.