There are three technical laboratories used by the Industrial Engineering Department. These are: Traditional Machine Shop, CNC Machine Shop, and Flexible Manufacturing Systems Laboratory.
Traditional Machine Shop boasts two universal lathes (TOS), a conventional milling machine (Foreman), a laser cutting machine (Universal PLS), a 3D Printing Machine (Stratasys), and a drilling machine. Laser cutting machine is connected to computer that is used to upload the geometrical shapes to be cut on this machine. This lab is mainly utilized in undergraduate level IE 262 (Manufacturing Processes) and IE 271 (Operations Analysis and Design) courses. This lab serves university-wide based on requests.
The CNC Machine Shop is mainly utilized for research but is also used in elective manufacturing courses. This lab includes a state-of-the-art CNC Milling Machine (DMG HSC 55), a CNC Turning Center (DMG Nexus 400), a micro plastic injection machine (Desma), and a hybrid micro electro discharge/micro milling machine (Mikrotools). All the machines in this lab are operated via computers where machine specific software (Siemens 840D in CNC machines) is installed. An additional desktop computer is used to run CAD-CAM-CAE software (Solidworks, Cimatron) that is required mainly for part programming and simulation of the tool paths. All users of the lab get acquainted with the software with the help of a professional technician who is available on site. User manuals of the machines are available for those who are interested in learning to operate these machines.
The Flexible Manufacturing Systems Laboratory possesses a computer controlled manufacturing cell for simulation purposes. There are two small scale CNC machines and a conveyor transferring parts between them. The operating system of the flexible manufacturing system is installed on three different computers. The software controlling the flexible manufacturing cell was developed by its manufacturer. In addition, a six-degree of freedom industrial robot is in this lab. The robot is connected to a dedicated desktop computer. The software developed by ABB Company (Rapid) allows users to simulate the robotic cell and tool path of the robot during simulation. This lab is utilized in IE 262 course and departmental elective courses.
