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BME Design Shop

BME Design Shop

Have you ever wanted to build something you designed yourself?

 

The BME Design Shop is the perfect place for you to get started! The design instructors, Marty Jacobson and John Lau, offer consultation and feedback to help you refine your concepts and optimize them for manufacturing. Training sessions are offered several times a week whenever classes are in session. Whenever the shop is open, there is someone on hand to supervise and walk you through the uses of the wide range of equipment available to you ranging from a mill and lathe to a MakerBot 3D printer. As you gain proficiency, shop staff will guide you through any challenging task you may encounter. Students can earn after-hours shop access, giving them the independence to avoid high-traffic times in the shop, and to work at times which suit their own schedules.

 

Below is a list of equipment and level of difficulty:

Laser Cutter: EASY

  • Good for quick mockups and simple prototypes
  • Only requires a 2-dimensional design in vector format (AutoCAD, Illustrator)
  • Excellent for making thin parts which would be difficult to hold for CNC
  • Limited to sheets ¼” in thickness
  • No PVC, polycarbonate, or metal (though metal can be engraved
  • Requires 1-2 hours training and knowledge of 2D vector graphics or CAD on your own

3D Printer: Fablicator, Ultimaker 2, etc: EASY

  • Good for verifying scale and fit, but not structural in most applications
  • Cheap, can be used for personal projects
  • Requires constant babysitting and is not very reliable
  • Turnaround is ½ hour to 8 hours, depending on part complexity and size
  • Can print anything that is injection moldable, and some things which are not injection moldable
  • Requires 1-2 hours training and knowledge of 3D CAD software

3D Printer: Dimension 1200EST w/ soluble support: EASY

  • Good for verifying scale and fit. Parts are structural stand-ins for real parts if properly designed
  • Parts must be approved by shop staff or Marty before they may be printed
  • Bulletproof reliability, can print internal features and anything else you can dream up, as long as features are not too small or too thin for it to resolve.
  • Turnaround is 8 hours to 2 days, depending on part complexity and size
  • Requires 1-2 hours training and knowledge of 3D CAD software

CNC assisted Manual Mill - 2 axis functions: MODERATE

  • Parts must be thoroughly designed for milling operations.
  • Workholding strategies are a design project in and of themselves.
  • Can be used to make functional, extremely precise components using aluminum, steel, titanium, and any plastics.
  • Can be used to modify existing parts or tighten up parts from looser-tolerance processes
  • Requires 2-3 hours training and 20+ hours experience

Resin Casting –  Silicone, polyurethane, polyester: MODERATE

  • Parts must be thoroughly designed for resin casting.
  • Molds are a design project in and of themselves.
  • Can be used to make functional, extremely precise components using silicone, latex, and various thermoset elastomers.
  • Requires 2-3 hours training and 20+ hours experience

Vacuum forming–  Thermoplastics: MODERATE

  • Parts must be thoroughly designed for vacuum forming.
  • Positive forms are fairly easy to create.
  • Can be used to make functional, extremely precise components using ABS, acrylic, polycarbonate, and flexible vinyl sheet materials.
  • Requires .5 hours training and 5+ hours experience

Manual Lathe – 2 axis: MODERATE

  • Can be used to make revolved, threaded, spherical, and eccentric parts.
  • Appropriate for parts from softball size to mm scale.
  • Requires 5-10 hours training and 15+ hours experience before you can be productive on your own.

CNC Mill – 3 axis functions: : COMPLICATED

  • Can be used to make multi-axis contoured, extremely complex parts.
  • Can be used to mass-produce prototypes for testing.
  • Appropriate for parts from shoebox size to the 100 micron scale.
  • Requires 15+ hours training and 50+ hours experience before you can be productive on your own.