About
The Research Machine Shop is a one-stop-shop for design, engineering, and fabrication/modification of parts and devices critical to research at Northwestern.
Home to a Design & Engineering Shop, a Professional Shop and a Student Shop, we provide a full range of services including shop training, advice and consultation, design, fabrication/modification, repair, and assembly.
The mechanical, electromechanical, materials, and electronics expertise offered by our full on-site staff, can be applied to everything from simple parts and tools to complex geometries, and from apparatus improvement to complete original designs of mechanisms and assemblies.
The Design & Engineering Shop offers customized solutions using computer aided design and analysis software. Our experience includes large number of technologies including CAD/FEA, rotary step and servo motors, linear motors, voice coils, piezo actuators, flexures, high-sensitivity load cells, galvanometers, pneumatics/hydraulics, Peltier devices, optical mechanics, sensors, metal/plastic plating, heat treating commercial motion controllers, board-level electronics, PCB design, cabling, electronics cooling, and more.
The Professional Shop can manufacture components in stainless steel, high purity copper, molybdenum, titanium, plastics, etc., utilizing CNC mill, lathe, EDM, and surface grinder machines. We also have excellent relations with external resources such as machine shops, electroplaters, plastic molders, metal etchers, etc. to use when required.
The Student Shop offers shop training including equipment safety, basic metrology, mill and lathe, hand tools, saws, drill presses and more. Upon completion, users gain access to use the Shop at no charge.
Users of our services come from Northwestern departments ranging from Physics & Astronomy, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Radiology, and many others.
New projects are welcome and we invite you to stop by or contact us to discuss your ideas and your immediate or future projects.
All advice and initial discussions are at no-charge. Design and engineering charges for any subsequent work can be done on a quoted or time-and-material basis.
Note: The Design and Engineering Shop is not for profit – fees that are charged are to help defray the costs associated with making these capabilities and services available on-campus.
Contact us at researchshop@northwestern.edu or visit us at 2145 Sheridan Road, Tech NG-46, Evanston, IL.
If you are based on the Chicago campus, we are just a few stops away on the Intercampus Shuttle.
We look forward to working with you.
Robert Golenia
Operations Director
Design and Engineering Manager