AERO HANGAR

Machine shop I managed

Summary

Ask any engineering student from Cal Poly in the last few decades about the Aero Hangar and they'll know exactly what you're talking about. This magical building is one of two machine shops on campus that students are free to use for senior projects, club projects, class projects, and even personal projects. With 8 manual mills, 8 manual lathes, 4 CNC mills, 1 CNC lathe, TIG Welding, MIG Welding, drill presses, woodworking equipment, and hundreds of other tools, this shop is the heart and soul of the Cal Poly "Learn By Doing" motto.

As a college sophomore, I was put solely in charge of making sure it all worked. Every time a mill was crashed, or a lathe motor stopped working, or the TIG Welder was stuck on DCEP, it was my responsibility to diagnose the issue, determine the solution, and fix the problem or delegate the work within a very short turnaround time. For every mill with a broken CVT, there was a senior project group that might not finish their project or a club that couldn't make it to their competition.

This job taught me an incredible amount about not only design, but time management, and leadership. Tearing apart a mill head to discover a broken shear pin really helps you learn a lot about gears, cams, bearings, transmissions, belts, and just about every other thing you could ever use in a mechanical assembly. It also taught me that designing a part that needs regularly replaced deep in a machine is poor machine design. Having hands on experience diagnosing these issues is an invaluable resource when it comes to being a designer. Additionally, since I was doing all of this while also in classes and clubs, this job taught me how to see a task, determine its priority, and using leadership skills, delegate it to other student shop technicians.

This shop means so much to so many. Tens of thousands of projects have come through the doors of the Hangar and it is often times the first experience many people have with fabrication. I am so proud that I was able to make a mark on it and help out other students.