The following facilities are maintained by the department for both instruction and research activities:

• Computer-Aided Engineering Design Laboratory—This laboratory is equipped with twenty networked workstations and a network file server. Engineering design software supported in this laboratory includes: MathCAD, Pro/Engineer, Pro/Mechanica, Working Model, Microsoft Project and Office, HVAC design, Airplane Design, and TKSolver and EES. This is the software that our graduates are most likely to be using as designers in industry. Software is updated annually, and the computers are replaced on a three or four year cycle.
  
  
• Freshmen Graphics Laboratory—This laboratory is equipped with twenty-four networked workstations, which share a file server with the CAED Laboratory. Engineering design software supported in this laboratory includes: MathCAD, Pro/Engineer, CADKEY, IntelliCAD, and Microsoft Office. This is the graphics software that our graduates are most likely to be using as designers in industry. Software is updated annually, and the computers are replaced on a three or four-year cycle. Ten drafting tables are also available for making three-view sketches and drawings.
  
  
• Metal Casting Laboratory—Equipment in this laboratory includes a gas-fired crucible furnace and two electric induction furnaces (50 and 100 lb) for melting metals, sand mullers and mixers and mold preparation equipment, a complete state-of-the-art sand testing facility and a porosity tester. This laboratory is very well equipped and modern and allows the students to experience foundry practices appropriate to a prototype or experimental molding operation.
  
  
• Metallurgy Laboratory—This laboratory has all of the equipment necessary for complete metallurgical analysis of materials. The centerpiece is the scanning electron microscope and the new spark-emission spectrometer. They are supported by a variety of optical microscopes, metallographs, and hardness testers. All of the sample preparation and polishing equipment required to prepare samples for testing is available.
  
  
• Material Testing Laboratory—This laboratory houses the 200,000-lb capacity Universal Testing Machine, the smaller 60,000-lb Universal Testing Machine, and the Impact Tester. These machines allow the students to determine all of the mechanical properties of any engineering material.
  
  
• Thermal Fluids Laboratory—The following equipment is located in the Thermal Fluids Laboratory: duct flow apparatus, Saybolt Viscometer, dead weight tester, instrumented air compressor, refrigeration apparatus, and hydronic simulator.
  
  
• Heat Transfer Laboratory—This laboratory contains a heat exchanger, conduction apparatus, an air conditioning test unit, and an industrial refrigeration simulator. The microscale cooling project also uses this laboratory.
  
  
• Data Acquisition and Control Laboratory—This laboratory is used to teach students how to use computers to measure properties and control mechanical systems. The equipment in this laboratory provides all of the components required to measure temperature and strain and to control simple on/off systems. This laboratory has been updated to include instruction in mechatronics.
  
  
• Vibration Laboratory—Students perform a variety of vibration experiments using the three-degree-of-freedom vibration demonstrator, the B&K Dual-Channel Vibration Analyzer, and a PC based modal analysis system.
  
  
• Wind Tunnel Laboratory— The department has a 4x4x6 foot subsonic wind tunnel (large for any University) and a 4x4 inch supersonic wind tunnel, both equipped for computer data acquisition. A smoke generator with a hand-held wand is available for flow visualization in the subsonic tunnel, and the supersonic tunnel is equipped with a Schlieren optical system to observe shock waves.
  
  
• Aircraft Structures Laboratory— A large, rigid structure (called a ‘strongback’) is used to hold structural members for testing. A torque tube, a fuselage truss, and a box beam are available for testing.
  
  
• Manufacturing Laboratory—In addition to providing laboratory experience in manufacturing, this facility also serves as the department’s machine shop. The laboratory contains a substantial complement of equipment in the area of chip-forming processes including mills, lathes, drill presses, and grinders. These include a large numerically controlled mill and a desk-top CNC milling machine. A lathe-tool dynamometer proves the means for measuring forces during machining operations.
  
  
• Student Project Laboratory—This laboratory provides workspace for the SAE Mini-Baja team, the senior design projects, and other student projects. In addition to workbenches and a full complement of tools, three electric welders are available in this laboratory.