Workshop7
WORKSHOP7 houses an expansive suite of technology ranging from 3D printing and other additive manufacturing, CNC manufacturing, laser cutting, to 3D visualisation, VR and AR. Supplementing these digital processes, is a wide range of manual equipment such as mills, lathes, bandsaws, welding machines, and a table saw on hand.
In addition to this, Workshop7 is equipped with a range of manual tools and machinery for working a variety of materials. For processing metals, we have a machining room with a mill and a lathe, and a separate welding area with MIG, TIG, and arc welders. For timber, plastics, and other materials we have a machine room with bandsaws, table saw, a wood lathe, and disc sanders. There is also a spray booth for painting parts/models, and a dedicated electronics room for soldering components and programming.
workshop7_uc
Exploring materials and processes through both digital and analogue technologies.
The Workshop7 3D Printing Lab is equipped with a range of technologies to produce 3D models which would otherwise be too complex or costly to build manually. We utilise FDM printers for low detail form study models, and for higher detail prototypes we have a bank of SLA machines which can produce a part in high resolution (down to 50 microns per layer) in a range of material types from durable, flexible, high-temperature and more. We also have a larger format MJP printer from 3D Systems which is capable of very high-resolution printing (down to 32 microns) for high-fidelity prototype models.
Workshop7 is exploring the future of automation in design and manufacturing with our Universal Robots UR10e robot arm. This 6-axis robot is an experimental tool which allows us to construct things that would otherwise be excessively complex or tedious to complete using manual techniques and technologies. We have so far developed and integrated tools for operations such as large-scale 3D printing with a plastic extruder tool, milling and drilling operations, and “pick and place” programs for building brick-based structures.
The Laser Lab is equipped with a large and a small format laser cutter. These machines take sheet materials – almost anything besides metals, and quickly turn them into kit-form models. This makes it an ideal option for scale architectural models and rapid product prototypes.
Our Multicam CNC Router is among our most versatile services. With a 2.4m x 1.2m operating area, we can process materials such as soft and hard woods, MDF, various foam materials, and soft metals e.g. aluminum up to a thickness of 50mm. With this machine we can produce 2D “profile cuts” which form a kit of pieces, much like flat-pack furniture, or we can 3D route shapes such as landscape contour models with complex 3-dimensional curvature.
The dedicated composites lab allows for the design and manufacturing of advanced composites objects and structures. With facilities for processing "prepreg" carbon fibre and other fabrics, we can produce industry standard, high quality composite parts in house.
The materials lab houses our Instron compression/tensile testing machine and impact tester. This is a practical space with a range of testing equipment, for the purpose of understanding materials properties.