MACHINE SHOP & FABRICATION FACILITIES

The Mechanical Engineering Department Student Machine Shop at the University of California Berkeley provides engineering students with a well-equipped, safe working environment in which those students can design and manufacture their projects for engineering classes, research, and vehicle and team competition through on-site technical guidance. The machine tools include engine lathes, vertical and horizontal milling machines, drill presses, off-hand grinders, belt sanders, band saws, and additional equipment used in teaching manufacturing processes, including an OMAX Water Jet, a Mori Seiki CNC Lathe, a HAAS VF-O VMC, and a FANUC Cut Wire EDM

The Physics Machine Shop (M-shop) at the University of California Berkeley provides design, construction and maintenance of prototype research equipment to the Physics faculty, students, and postdocs. The M-shop is staffed with one superintendent and three senior machinists. Capabilities include use of standard and special machine tools, such as the lathe, vertical mill, drill press, grinders, saws, dividing engines, gear hob, precision Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine tools, and Electrical Discharge (EDM) machining, and optical measuring devices.  

The College of Chemistry Shops at the University of California Berkeley offer comprehensive technical expertise in support of the College's mission of providing the highest quality in education, research, and public service. Shop technical services facilitate the exploration, discovery, and dissemination of new scientific knowledge. College Shops are organized into the following seven units:

  • Glass Shop
  • Electrical Shop
  • Electronics Shop
  • Pump Repair Shop
  • Wood Shop
  • Machine Shop

These Shops are able to provide the researcher with a full range of professional services including consultation and design, project management, and fabrication. Their services include, but are not limited to, the construction, installation or repair of experimental equipment and instrumentation; scientific glassblowing; electronics construction and repair; precision prototype machining and welding; precision sheet metal fabrication; laboratory construction, remodeling and repair; vacuum pump and small motor maintenance and repair; electrical repairs, installations and upgrades. The Student Shop also offers limited, do-it-yourself project abilities.

The School of Chemical Sciences Machine Shop at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign can build and repair ultra-high vacuum, high pressure, optical and mechanical equipment.   Help is also available in the design of new equipment. Resources include:

  • Hardinge HLV precision lathe (3)
  • Bridgeport vertical mills (3)
  • Cincinnati horizontal mill
  • LeBlond Tool and Die Maker lathe
  • LeBlond gap bed lathe
  • Bridgeport CNC vertical mill
  • Bridgeport CNC lathe
  • DoAll vertical band saw
  • DoAll surface grinder
  • Elox ram EDM retrofitted with Hansvedt power supply
  • Hansvedt Wire EDM
  • Southwestern CNC vertical bed mill
  • Miller MIG and TIG welders
  • Heat treating furnaces
  • Scherr, Tumico digital optical comparator
  • Shear, box and pan brake and slip roll for sheet metal
  • CAD system using Autocad
  • ESAB plasma torch

The Mechanical Engineering Machine Shop at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is staffed with three Instrument Makers, each having over 30 years experience in all areas of materials and processes related to research apparatus fabrication as well as tool & die preparation. Shop tools include:

  • lathes capable of turning, boring and threading (both SAE and metric) diameters ranging from 17” to small precision shafts
  • 3 axis CNC milling centers (28” x 20” travel) coupled with CAD/CAM software for programming of intricate profile machining
  • standard Bridgeport vertical mills equipped with Proto-Trac CNC systems
  • traveling wire EDM systems
  • ram EDM system capable of burning very small holes (0.0019”) in hard to machine materials
  • Brown & Sharpe 6” x 12” surface grinder
  • Welding (TIG and MIG), soldering and brazing
  • Sheet metal forming

The Life Sciences Machine Shop provides a variety of services for faculty, staff, and students in Life Sciences, as well as other campus units at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Services include:

  • Milling machine work
  • Precision lathe work
  • Sheet metal design and fabrication
  • Welding, soldering, and brazing
  • Woodworking design and fabrication

The Life Science Electronics Shop at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is your high-tech resource for solving electronic, instrumentation, control and data acquisition problems. Our first priority in work is to provide services for the faculty and staff in the School of Life Sciences. We also work for others throughout the University who may not have the good fortune of having their own departmental electronics shop.


We have experience in design, specification, and construction with:

  • data acquisition/control computer interface cards
  • LabView software
  • motion control using linear actuators
  • stepping motor controllers
  • modular, PID heating/cooling controllers
  • programmable logic controllers (PLC's)
  • General Electric LogicMaster 90 software
  • Sensors, feedback, and readouts
  • Position control
  • Logic control
  • Heating/cooling control

The Aerosopace Engineering Research Machine Shop at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign serves faculty, staff, and students throughout the College of Engineering and across the campus. Services include:

  • Precision machining
  • Strain gaging & load cells
  • Fabrication
  • Machine testing

The Physics Machine Shop at the University of Illioinois has a Professional Machine Shop focuses on making special one-of-a-kind research equipment to order. Equipment includes:

  • 3-axis CNC milling machine
  • 2-axis CNC milling machine
  • sheet metal equipment
  • TIG welding capabilities
  • all the normal machines found in a well-equipped shop

Exotic materials we have worked with include gold, silver, platinum, iridium, tantalum, titanium, magnesium, molybdenum, stainless steel, inconel and other nickel alloys, tool steels, machinable ceramics (such as Macor), tungsten, some ceramics, single crystal metal samples, composite materials (of various kinds), and plastics (such as Teflon, Delrin, Nylon, etc.)

The Physics Machine Shop has experience fabricating special equipment that is used in the areas of Ultra High Vacuum (UHV), High Temperature, High Pressure, Cryogenics, Laser Research, etc.

The Batteries for Advanced Transportation Technologies Fabrication Laboratory (BATT Fab Lab) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory onducts battery cell analysis and testing of the performance of new materials in experimental batteries. It has glove boxes and equipment for manufacturing small experimental test cells. All battery assembly work takes place inside of glove boxes to keep out moisture. The lab also has a hydraulic Klein cell machine, an automated device that combines the battery's electrodes and generates sealed battery cells reproducibly.

The core mission of the machine shops at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is to provide a high quality, technically advanced, comprehensive, and diverse mechanical manufacturing resource to the scientific Divisions and user Facilities of the Laboratory. The shops provide a level and convenience of service not available from commercial vendors.

The services are provided to customers who desire a "turnkey" performance based on complete engineering drawing packages as well as to those who wish to have "walk-in" services where simple hand-drawn sketches or verbal instructions are provided to define the requested work. Work can be accommodated that has a range of schedule requirements from same-day quick response all the way to long lead fabrication work. Customers can receive advice and consultation on fabrication processes in addition to both reliable costing and schedule information. New processes can be developed to meet the needs of the Laboratory research programs. Easy and timely access to trained shop personnel and equipment is provided. Customers have the ability to exercise a high level of control and oversight resulting from the convenience of easy access to facilities, and equipment, and direct communication with trained personnel. The physical size of work that can be performed varies from large assemblies that can span tens of feet, all the way to precision components that measure fractions of an inch and have tolerances measured in microns. The Shops have:

  • CNC milling machines for precision million and 3+2 machining.
  • Purpose-built, high-speed, high precision, five-axis machining center capable of producing extremely complex, small, precise features with very fine surface finishes.
  • CNC lathes
  • Live tooling turning
  • CNC Waterjet ass
  • Two Wire EDM machines including a Sinker or Ram EDM i
  • Micro and meso scale machining
  • Photofabrication
  • Weldshop
  • Vacuum Brazing and Deposition
  • Plating and UHV cleaning
  • Optics polishing
  • Paint and powder coat services
  • Dimension Elite ABS plastic rapid prototyping machine
  • 3D Systems SLA-250 stereolithography machine
  • An extensive compliment of conventional machine tools including large surface grinders, Bullard type turning machines with capacities for turning up to nearly two meters diameter, a pipe lathe with a 250mm headstock bore, numerous grinders, lathes and milling machines.