SEAS Machine Shop

The SEAS Machine Shop assists students, staff, and faculty on original educational and research projects by conceiving, designing, and constructing apparatus and instrumentation for the support of research and instructional projects.

The SEAS Machine Shop equipment consists of basic machine shop machines such as milling machines, lathes, band saws, drill presses, some small sheet metal tools such as sheet metal shear, brake, roll, and hole punch and a variety of hand tools. Also, the shop has some CNC machining and MIG welding capabilities.

Shop Director Nick Bernardo has more than 20 years of diverse industrial and academic machining and fabrication experience. His expertise includes prototyping and CNC machining. Nick provides professional technical support for research and educational projects, studies and experimentation. He also analyzes, advises and assists students, staff, and faculty on original educational and research projects while conceiving, designing, and constructing apparatus and instrumentation for the support of research and instructional projects.

Shop Rules

    • Safety Glasses
      Everyone must wear safety glasses in the shop. Even when you’re not working on a machine, you must wear safety glasses. A chip from a machine someone else is working on could fly in your eye.

    • Clothes and Hair
      Check your clothes and hair before you walk into the shop. In particular:
      • If you have long hair or a long beard, tie it up.
      • No loose clothing. Ties, scarves, loose sleeves, etc. are prohibited.
      • No gloves.
      • Remove jewelry.
      • Wear appropriate shoes. Wear shoes that give sure footing. If you are working with heavy objects, steel-toed shoes are recommended.

    • Safe Conduct in the Shop
      • Be aware of what’s going on around you. For example, be careful not to bump into someone while they’re cutting with the bandsaw (they could lose a finger!).
      • Concentrate on what you’re doing. If you get tired, leave.
      • Don’t hurry. If you catch yourself rushing, slow down.
      • Don’t rush speeds and feeds. You’ll end up damaging your part, the tools, and maybe the machine itself.
      • Listen to the machine. If something doesn’t sound right, turn the machine off.
      • Don’t let someone talk you into doing something dangerous.
      • Don’t attempt to measure a part that’s moving.

    • Machining
      If you don’t know how to do something, ask!

      Before you start the machine:

Study the machine. Know which parts move, which are stationary, and which are sharp.

Double check that your workpiece is securely held.

Remove chuck keys and wrenches.

Do not leave machines running unattended!