A machine shop is a facility for cutting, fabricating, and finishing parts for new or existing equipment. It may have specialized staff and equipment, including robots, and safety protocols. Machine shops are found in manufacturing, educational, and research facilities, and may be used for creating custom parts or repairing heavy equipment. High schools and technical schools may have machine shops for students to learn skilled trades.
A machine shop is a facility with equipment and supplies for machining, a process in which parts are cut, fabricated, and finished to prepare them for use. Machine shops are used in creating new parts as well as repairing existing equipment and parts. Their staff may have specialized training, depending on the type of work being performed on the shop floor, as some machining tasks require a unique skill set, as well as a deep understanding of the type of work the finished parts will be used for.
Equipment such as cars, planes, large engines, and manufacturing equipment can spend time in a machine shop when it’s being created or in need of repair. Companies that manufacture such equipment usually have an on-site machine shop for fabricating new, custom, and test parts. Machine shops are also found in educational and research facilities, where people learn about machining in the context of repair, as well as the fabrication of parts for custom applications such as developing tooling for use in experiments.
Heavy equipment such as lathes and drill presses are commonly installed in a machine shop. The facility is well ventilated to address particulate issues and may have rasps, files and other smaller consumables available for finishing tasks, as well as spray booths for painting or coating finished products. Robots are used in some cases, especially when people need to make parts in a clean environment to avoid contamination; they control a robot from outside a room as it machines a part to specification.
Many machine shops have safety protocols to address common safety issues. Before people can use the equipment, they must be trained and expected to wear safety equipment such as goggles and face shields while working. People need to be alert to hazards in the shared space, such as spills or people working with hazardous materials. A safety officer may be assigned to periodically inspect the shop floor to identify and address safety risks.
Some high schools have a machine shop if they have an auto maintenance and repair program. Students in the program learn about working with equipment in the context of automobile work and can apply their machine shop skills to professional trades after graduation. Technical schools, where students focus on learning skilled trades, may have the highest quality shops and may provide their students with internship and community work opportunities.
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