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Machine shop

Machinist at work

The AOE Machine Shop provides faculty and students with the tools they need for state-of-the-art fabrication. Machine shop staff members offer support in many areas of expertise—including Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining, conventional milling, rapid prototyping, and computer-aided design (CAD) software.

When special capabilities are needed to complete a job, the machine shop staff handles communication with shops outside the university. 


Machine shop capabilities

An image of a person with a machine

Machining

  • Conventional milling and lathe
  • Three-axis CNC milling with HAAS equipment
  • Two-axis CNC lathe cutting with HAAS equipment 
A person welding

Welding

  • Metal inert gas (MIG ) welding
  • Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding
  • Plasma arc welding 
A 3D printed prototype

Rapid prototyping

  • 3-D model printing (Objet Alaris30, Connex3, Fortus 360, U-Print SE)
A screenshot of a CAD project

Mechanical Design & Drafting

  • Mechanical design (Solidworks Professional)
  • 3-D modeling and 2-D fabrication drawings

General Drawing Guidelines for submitting or estimating jobs in the AOE machine shop:

-Accepted Native CAD formats: The only native CAD formats that the AOE machine shop accepts are Solidworks files. 

-To submit jobs for machining, provide a 3d model as well as a 2d fabrication drawing which include proper dimension practices. 

-If native files are from any other format other than Solidworks, they should be converted as follows: Provide 3d part file in .iges,.stp, or .sat format. (do not submit .stl files for machined parts.)

-Submit a 2d drawing including all dimensions necessary for fabrication. 2d format can be: .dxf, .dwg, or .pdf format. If you do not require CNC machining then a 2d fabrication drawing is all that is required. If you are unsure, then provide both 3d and 2d files. 

-If you have multiple parts that make up an assembly that need to be constructed in the AOE machine shop, you'll need to provide an assembly drawing (in 2d format) that shows how to assemble each component preferably with a bill of material. 

-Watch this video for basic information on drawing and dimensioning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPCiZZw10U8

-For CAD related issues, please contact Scott Patrick at scottpatrick@vt.edu

Student machine shop

The shop includes a designated area where certified students can use general fabrication equipment. Students with training certificates can access the student machine shop area
Mon–Fri 8:00 AM–3:00 PM.


Machine Shop Director

Dr. William Devenport

Machine Shop Supervisor

James Lambert

Senior Mechanical Designer

Scott Patrick