Subtractive
3-Axis CNC Milling Machine
Haas VF-2 · extended travel
CNC vertical machining center, the test bed for our cutting-force, tool-wear, and surface-quality studies on wrought and printed metals.
MRL, Equipment
Equipment & facilities
The instruments behind our research, from cutting-force measurement and 3D printing to electron microscopy.
The lab
Built to make, measure, and inspect
Our facilities span the full experimental loop: fabricating specimens by machining and 3D printing, capturing forces and vibrations while we cut, and characterizing the results down to the microstructure.
01 / Make
Machining & fabrication
Additive
FFF 3D Printer
UltiMaker S5 · Metal Expansion Kit
Fused filament fabrication printer producing polymer and, with the metal expansion kit, sinterable metal specimens for our machining and strength studies.
Additive
Direct Metal Laser Sintering
EOS M 100
Laser powder-bed fusion system that sinters fine metal powders layer by layer, producing dense, high-resolution metal parts for our machining and characterization studies.
02 / Measure
Sensing & data acquisition
Force measurement
Piezoelectric Dynamometer
Kistler 9255C
Platform dynamometer measuring three-component cutting forces during machining, the core data behind our force-modeling and process-optimization work.
Force measurement
Multicomponent Dynamometer
Kistler 9129AA
Compact multicomponent dynamometer for three-axis force measurement across a wide range of machining setups.
Signals
Data Acquisition
National Instruments USB-6259
High-speed multifunction DAQ that synchronizes force, vibration, and other sensor signals during experiments.
Dynamics
Modal Analysis Test Setup
Accelerometer + modal hammer
Impact-hammer and accelerometer setup for measuring frequency response functions, characterizing machine-tool dynamics and chatter stability.
03 / Inspect
Imaging & characterization
Electron microscopy
Scanning Electron Microscope
ZEISS EVO 10
High-magnification imaging of chips, machined surfaces, and microstructure, including porosity analysis of additively manufactured metals.
Digital microscopy
Digital Microscope
Keyence VHX-7100 · VHX-X20 Rz 20×–200×
Digital microscopy for tool-wear measurement, surface inspection, and dimensional analysis.
High-speed imaging
High-Speed Camera
Photron FASTCAM NOVA S6 · 1000K-M-64GB
High-speed imaging of chip formation and dynamic cutting phenomena, capturing what happens at the tool–workpiece interface in microseconds.
See it in action
What we do with it
Explore the research programs this equipment supports, and the publications it has produced.