Accessing the Design Laboratory


The Design Lab is open to graduate students, researchers, and lab-affiliated undergraduates.

In order to use the Design Lab and its equipment, you must complete the required trainings and courses. 
Before taking the in-person courses outlined below, every user must take the Rascal Course TC0600: Shop Safety Training, and email the certificate to the Design Lab.
Access to the Design Lab is limited to trained users only. Users are required to check in prior to use of the lab equipment, to ensure they are trained and prepared to use the machinery. There is no after-hours access.

Registering for Training Courses:

Design Lab Training is available to all eligible students and researchers at Columbia. All graduate students, researchers, and undergraduates who are doing research at Columbia are eligible.

To sign up for training, please add your name to the sign-up sheet linked here.

In-Person Courses

Prerequisites 

  1. Completion of the RASCAL training course (TC0600)
  2. Purchase Safety Glasses (Must adhere to ANSI Z87.1 Standards)
    Recommended Safety Glasses
    Recommended Over-Glasses Safety Glasses

This course has two sessions (6 hours total) and covers:

  1. Overall Shop Safety
  2. Hand Tools
  3. Sanders and Grinders
  4. Band Saws
  5. Drill Presses
  6. 3D Printers
  7. Laser Cutting
  8. Soldering

Session 1 - 3 hours

  • Walkthrough of the shop, with focus on safety and situational awareness
  • Review of buddy system and required PPE
  • Overview of hand tools and best practices
  • Overview of operation and hazards of grinders, belt sanders, and band saws
  • Practice operation of above tools
  • Set-up and jig options for band saws
  • Operation and hazards of drill presses
  • Workholding and allowable materials on drill presses
  • Speeds, feeds, and changing drill chucks
  • Practice operation on the drill press
  • Clean up and best practices

Session 2 - 3 hours

  • 3D printer basics and background
  • 3D printing software and materials
  • Safety around 3D printers
  • Types of 3D printing and post-processing requirements
  • Practice prints and operations
  • Laser cutting training, safety and proper set-up
  • Filtration requirements for laser cutting
  • Allowed materials and thicknesses
  • Overview of soldering and safety practices

Prerequisites 

  1. Completion of the RASCAL training course (TC0600)
  2. Purchase Safety Glasses (Must adhere to ANSI Z87.1 Standards)
    Recommended Safety Glasses
    Recommended Over-Glasses Safety Glasses
  3. Completion of Course 1 (above)

This course has 4 sessions (16 hours total) and covers:

  1. Lathes
  2. Mills

Session 1 - 4 hours

  • Overview of operations and hazards of a lathe
  • Tooling, materials, and feeds and speeds
  • Practice basic operations on the lathe
  • Safety considerations and emergency shut off practice
  • Clean up and maintenance procedures

Session 2 - 4 hours

  • Overview of operations and hazards of a mill
  • Tooling, materials, and feeds and speeds
  • Practice basic operations on the mill
  • Safety considerations and emergency shut off practice
  • Clean up and maintenance procedures

Session 3 - 4 hours

  • Hands-on work on the mill and lathes

Session 4 - 4 hours

  • Hands-on work on the mill and lathes
Columbia Affiliations