IFL Training Shift 01: Introduction to the Space

Welcome to the IFL!

Before we begin the training, please review the space use policy located next to the door.

In the IFL we have two first aid its.

The first kit is located just inside the main door of the IFL to the right

The second kit is located on the wire rack on the back in the back of the lab

In an emergency, leave out the main entrance of the lab and head either right or left, following the illuminated exit signs, and head out of the building.

There is a fire extinguisher right inside the main entrance of the lab to the right.

It is right next to the first aid kit.

If there is an emergency in the lab, please use the emergency response guide (if you are able to safely) to report any dangers, fires, chemcical spills, etc.

Before entering the lab, you can see that there is an eyewash/shower station directly to the right of the entrance to the lab.

Upon entering the lab, you will, again, find an eyewash/shower station.

When activated, the shower will dump 10 gallons of water to decontaminate the user.

Whenever you are using a machine, we require you to be wearing safety glasses.

The dress code for the lab is long pants and closed toed shoes. Make sure any loose clothing is secured and hair is tied back.

When machining, it is best to take off any bracelets or jewelry and remove any long sleeves.

Never wear gloves when machining.

These safety glasses can be foung in the cabinet directly left of the eye wash/shower station in the lab

If you would like to use hearing protection, this can be found on the safety glasses cabinet,

Now that we will look at each machine in the lab.

Each machine has a safety training checklist located in the brown binder by the front door. Review this before training or giving training on each machine.

All emergency stop buttons (E-Stops) will be circled in red for the following step.

The first machine is the Vertical Bandsaw.

This machine is for cutting along a thin plate of metal, either in a straight line or a curve.

The biggest potential danger is getting fingers to close to the blade.

The second machine is the Horizontal Bandsaw.

This machine is for cutting long pieces of metal to a specific length.

The biggest potential denger is getting your finger/hair to close to the blade.

When cutting with any reciprocating blade you must have hair tied back, short sleeves, and you may not wear gloves.

The Horizontal Bandsaw has an emergency stop, while the vertical bandsaw only has an off button.

The drill mill is a useful machine when you need to make two faces perpendicular to each other, cut a pocket into metal, or simply drill a hole through metal.

The biggest potential danger is getting hit in the eye with a chip from the machine or getting your hand caught under a bit.

This machine has an emergency stop for safety reasons.

The Belt Sander is a great machine for slowly taking off any burrs or excess metal on something that was cut using another machine.

The biggest safety concerns would be keeping your fingers away from the belt as it is rotating and keeping hair and jewelry away from it, just like any other machine.

Parts will heat up very quickly on this machine so go slowly when removing lots of material.

When using the Sander/Grinder, be sure to turn the vacuum cleaner on!

The Drill Press is a very common, standard machine for cutting holes perpendicular to metals.

There are two drill presses: one for drilling aluminum and one for drilling steel. Each is set to different speeds for each material.

The biggest safety concern is not holding your hand to close to the cutting bit of the drill press.

The Surface Grinder is very useful for creating a flat level surface on ferrous metals.

The biggest safety concerns would be keeping your hands away from the grinding disk.

The Lathe is a very powerful and useful machine for creating patterns or angles on metal bars or pipes.

The Lathe comes with a lot of safety concerns: keeping hands and arms away from the rotating metal, being careful around the sharp bits, making sure no bit breaks off and hits you...

This machine has an emergency stop button and a red emergency foot brake near the floor .

The Waterjet is probably our most used machine in the space.

The waterjet does not have any big safety concerns, the only concern would be when changing the slats on the bed be careful to not cut yourself.

The waterjet has its own software and computer which require more training than most other machines.

The Iron Worker is a great machine for cutting, shearing, punching, or notching large amounts of metals.

The Iron Worker has a lot of safeties built-in but do NOT put your fingers near anything red when the machine is turned on!

The red box in the image shows the location of the emergency stop button.

The Datron Neo is our CNC mill and it is very precise and used for more detailed works than normal CNC mills.

While cutting, the Datron is compeltely sealed off from its operator so the only real safety concern is not cutting yourself on a tool when changing tools out of the machine.

The red boxes in the image show the emergency stop buttons for the machine.

In the IFL, we have a wide range of hand tools.

Each tool is unique in what it requires to operate safely, so please ask us before using a tool for the first time.

The IFL is a lab that is accessible to students who need to cut a piece of metal quickly, drill a hole, or do other simple tasks that they may need to do in order to complete a project or task.

Our papercut system is what handles all 3D printing, Waterjet, and CNC jobs. It can be found here.

If a student wishes to use a machine though, they must be safety trained in the lab and they must be supervised (lightly) while doing their work.

Students must have advanced training before using the Datron Neo, the Waterjet, or the Welding Station.