Interactive 360-degree Lab Tour
Click on the image and use your mouse or trackpad to rotate and look around the lab.
- Use a mouse wheel, trackpad or mobile touch screen to zoom in and out of the image.
- Click on the image and hold to rotate the image 360 degrees left and right, up and down.
- View the image full-screen by clicking on the frame icon in the upper right corner.
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Integrated Technology Lab
Engineering and technology students receive hands-on experience, learning the different aspects of manufacturing at UW-Stout’s Integrated Technology Lab. Modeled after industry labs with similar functions, the lab helps to ensure students are industry-ready upon graduation.
It provides students the opportunity to develop conceptual ideas into working physical prototypes and gives the ability to conduct experiments to evaluate the performance of various design ideas. Many of the prototypes made are for external sponsors such as regional companies or entrepreneurs.
“We can do just about anything here with plastic, metal, wood, corrugate, and other materials,” said Lab Assistant Katie Christoffel, a senior in Packaging.
The lab has 14 3D printers ranging in size and capability, metal and wood machining tools such as saws, lathes, Bridgeport, welding and plasma cutting, a paint finishing booth, and various measurement instrumentation. There are also several engine experimental stations for conducting experiments on engine performance with various alternative fuels. Some classes continue to work on projects developed in previous semesters.
“A few ongoing projects here are a flight simulator, turning a motorcycle into a 3-wheeler, a wood gasifier, and making a 1000-watt metal laser welder capable of 3D printing metal parts,” Christoffel said.
Students can use the lab to learn how to build 3D printing artifacts for no cost. While engineering and technology students learn how to program and use the 3D printer, the lab is beneficial to other majors as well. “Students in Art and Design working on their senior projects come in needing 3D printed parts, milled parts, wood pieces, and many other things,” explained Christoffel. The lab has open hours outside of class time. Hours vary by semester.
Construction Lab
You'll receive hands-on experience testing building materials and creating mock-ups in the Construction Lab. Students from several programs find the space beneficial to their programs, including Construction, Career, Technical Education and Training, and Interior Design.
"It helps to know the building process from start to finish," said Construction major Erik Olson.
You are required to pass a safety quiz in construction methods to use the lab. Safety glasses and hard hats are also required when using the lab. You'll have access to basic woodworking tools like hammers, chop saws and table saws, levels, clamps, routers, joiners, and lumber. The Student Construction Association (SCA) often hosts contractor presentations and demonstrations in the lab. SCA also offers networking events like the Fall Brat Feed and Spring BBQ.
Plastic Engineering Lab
UW-Stout's Plastics Engineering Lab is where Engineering and Technology students learn about the materials science of plastics, as well as part design principles and plastics processing methods. The Plastics Engineering Lab consists of three spaces: a classroom, the plastics processing area, and the plastic materials characterization lab.
The lab has a range of equipment and software available for students in the lab to design, simulate, and manufacture plastic products; DMA, DSC, TGA, FTIR, rheometers, MoldFlow, and SolidWorks software. There is also a heavy focus on processing techniques, including injection molding, extrusion, thermoforming, blow molding, and rotational molding.
"The general goal in this lab is to understand the materials science behind plastics and use that to design and manufacture plastic components," explained Plastics Engineering professor, Adam Kramschuster. "The range of characterization and processing equipment available to our students makes this lab one of the elite plastics engineering laboratories in the nation."