MAE Manufacturing & Automation Laboratory

Directed by Dr. Han P. Bao

The Automated Manufactuing and Rapid Prototyping Laboratory is jointly run by the Engineering Technology Department and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department. The lab is incorporated into many curricula: Freshman in their Introduction to Engineering courses, senior students for the research.

This laboratory houses a variety of automated manufacturing equipment including computer numerical control machines, robots, machines visions systems, coordinate measuring machine and abrasive jet equipment. The equipment in this lab can take a product all the way from conceptual design to actual fabrication.

The rapid prototyping capabilities can create a physical model from the design in the computer controlled Thermojet equipment. These wax models can be miniaturized mechanisms for demonstration purposes, new design of parts to be used directly in machine prior to sending a part to mass production or casting techniques can be used to produce a part from plastic or aluminum.

Classes supported:

Undergraduate: MAE 434W, MAE 435
Graduate/Research : MAE 682, MAE 744/844, MAE 785/885

Instrumentation & Software:

Mitsubishi Robot and Work Station
Bridgeport Series-I Vertical CNC Machine
Dynamite desktop CNC machines - 3
IRI machine Vision System
Brown & Sharpe Coordinate Measuring Machine
Rhino and Microbot Educational
Abrasive Jet machines - 2
Bridgeport EZ-CAM software
Pro Model Software
ThermoJet for producing wax models with 6 inch x 8 inch x 8 inch maximum capacity
Nth Dimension Rapid Prototyping Machine
Plotter - cutter for producing layered paper models
Cost Estimator Software
Process Model Software
Solid Works Software