The Technical Services of the Department of Physics & Astronomy provides access to its Student Machine Shop (SMS). Located in Hennings 224, the machine shop is opened to students, staff, and faculty who require space and tooling to work on personal projects. The machine shop is equipped with all the necessary tools for woodworking, metal machining, sheet metal work, soldering, etc. It is also manned from 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, by an experienced machinist who will be more than happy to assist you.
To gain access to the facility, you must complete an introductory course where you will learn the safe usage of the different machine tools.
We believe that the best way to learn is through practice, therefore, the course is almost entirely hands-on.
You will learn basic machining skills by tackling a project: a cell-phone holder.
This project is broken down into various modules, with each module emphasizing different tools and skills, such as:
Once you pass the course, you will be able to access the facility at any time using your UBC ID card. The SMS safety rules must be obeyed at all time. Those caught doing anything that could endanger themselves, other users, or any of the equipment may get their access revoked.
The course consists of 10 sessions (or modules) of 3h45min. The course is given twice per school term in two different formats. Both formats cover the same material, but at a different pace.
To cover the cost of material and technician time, the department charges a course fee of:
To cover tooling and maintenance costs, an annual fee of $120 is charged to those who wish to access the SMS facility once the course is completed. People affiliated with the Physics & Astronomy department are not charged for using our facility and are exempted of this fee.
If you are interested in taking any of our courses, please fill up this contact form.
If you have any questions, please contact sms-course@phas.ubc.ca