Project

General

Profile

Hardware and Equipment

Checking Booty Bay in EDN is the best way to see exactly what the Design Lab has and whether it is available for use, or already signed out by someone else.

Design Lab has a decent collection of materials for 'Early Prototyping'. This includes microcontrollers and sensors, LEGOs, 80/20 extruded aluminum components, and other components. Check this page and ask your Project Engineer if there is something you're looking for to start 'sand boxing' your design ideas. We're here to accelerate your progress with stuff and parts to play with and try out.

Design Lab Cabinet Inventory

The Design Lab has A LOT of cabinets, full of A LOT of parts and components. Some cabinets are in the classroom, some are in the shop.
Search this page for detailed list of sensors available - Design Lab Cabinet Inventory
More items are available in the Mercer Lab (see below).

Physical desktop prototyping

  • LEGOs and Technics - Design Lab has 3 sets. Plenty of pieces, gears, and fun.
  • 80/20 aluminum extrusions for sturdier, larger scale exploration
  • Cardboard - recycling dumpsters on campus are FULL of boxes. PLEASE be safe and use the side access door. DO NOT climb in the front.

Test Equipment

Electronics

Measurement Equipment

Robots

  • ABB 1600/5 Industrial robot
  • ViperX 300 Robot Arm 6DOF on movable base with vision

Miscellany

Useful Equipment Around Campus

Things the lab can generally borrow or use from other RPI departments. Consult you Project Engineer and/or Sam Chiappone about proper procedure and communication channels.

  • JEC compressed air supply (according to Sonny Ratual 9/2016)
    • supplied by two rotary screw compressors rated at 115 CFM at 125 PSI each
    • Each has a tank capacity of 120 Gal.
    • they are equipped with refrigerated air dryers IR model D59NC, dew point to -45 F

Mercer XLab

Thanks to another generous gift from Doug Mercer in 2022, the Mercer Lab will be growing and expanding! Currently the following resources are available in the Mercer Lab.

  • Several modern oscilloscopes (200Mhz Tectronix scopes, 6+ GHz scopes also available)
  • Other basic equipment (signal generators, handheld and bench top multimeters, microscopes)
  • Soldering stations: soldering irons with various tip sizes and geometries (not necessarily just fat tips!), ESD mats, fume extraction fans, tweezers, etc.
  • Hot air rework station: useful in placing or replacing ICs
  • PCB Reflow oven: Extremely useful in populating SMD components on custom PCBs.
  • Part stocks: not significant right now but is building. 74 series logic ICs, resistors, capacitors, etc. Also random useful (but maybe older) parts that we've had in storage in other labs will be put in there (e.g., sensors, digital motor controllers, microcontroller/fpga dev boards, etc.) If someone is looking for a part, asking the lab's support tech is a good start.

Up-to-date information about the Mercer XLab including how to access the lab and available resources can be found on the lab's website, here: https://mercerxlab.rpi.edu/.