I have been in Machine Shops for Over a decade, with most of my hours in a shop being Fall-2013 to Spring 2019, although I still continue to tinker and work with my hands to present day, I’ve included a detailed account of that window, and where I learned and applied my skills. I should mention that it omits hand held power tools and hand tools (like hacksaws, cordless drill, screw drivers, etc.).

Details

I was fortunate enough to go to a Our Lady of the Rockies High School (Formerly Bishop Grandin), which as an extensive pre-trade & red-seal program. The facilities included a woodshop, a Sr. automotive shop, a Jr. automotive shop, a welding & metal fabrication shop, an updraft paint booth room, and a metal machining lab. Each shop was over 2000 sq. ft. I took full advantage of my time there having taken 2 welding & fabrication courses (a 3rd would have counted for apprenticeship hours), and used the metal mills and lathes extensively while on the school’s robotics team. Some of the equipment I became familiar with from my welding and fabrication courses:

• Welding and Joining Processes:
  • Oxy-Fuel welding
  • Oxy-Fuel brazing
  • Stick welding
  • TIG welding (steel and aluminum)
  • GMAW processes (MIG and FCAW)
  • Pulse-Spray MIG (aluminum)
• Thermal Cutting Processes:
  • Plasma Cutting
  • Oxy-Fuel Cutting
  • Air-Carbon arc gouging
• Fabrication Processes:
  • Hydraulic shears
  • Diacro bender
  • Hossfeld Universal bender
  • Horizontal bandsaw
  • Angle grinders
  • Pedestal grinders

Although I don’t have many photos of the coupons and test welds I made during this time, I do have photos of a steel “picture frame” I fabricated in the course (see photos). The 1/4” bar stock was bent using a Hossfeld Universal bender, and the seam was MIG welded closed with two single pass beads (one on the inside and one on the outside of the bar). The scrolls and rings were made from 5/16” round stock, using the Diacro bender, and tacked to together and to the frame with MIG welding.

During this time I was also very involved with my highshcool’s the robotics team (FRC team 1482), where I learned how to make things, and where I made my first parts on a lathe and mill. Equipment and tools I gained experience with from high school robotics:

• Manual metal mill
• Manual metal lathes
• Drill press
• More aluminum TIG
• More plasma cutting (aluminum)
• Arbour Press

In undergrad I continued to pursue my passion for robotics and joined the University of Waterloo Robotics Team (UWRT). At university the machine shop was bigger (no student welding shop though) and the robot more complex. As part of the Mars Rover team, I designed, machined and modified various structural parts for the chassis and the 5 Degree Of Freedom (DOF) robotic arm. Some of the equipment I used and became familiar with during my undergrad is:

• Laser cutters
• 3D printers
• More manual metal mills (Bridgeport mill, with digital readouts!)
• More manual metal lathes
• More drill presses
• More vertical bandsaws
• Sheet metal break
• Sheet metal punches
• Belt sanders
• Vertical bands