CSE Shop Services

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Engineering

The CSE Shop staff uses SolidWorks to design parts, assemblies and fixtures to prepare for manufacturing. We are happy to meet with customers to determine feasibility of machining their part or project. Consultation early in the project can help reduce redesign work due to specifying sizes or features that are not able to be machined in the CSE Shop.

Our staff has design and machining experience with a wide variety of materials. We can assist you with selecting the right materials based on cost effectiveness and part requirements. To make it easy for our customers, the CSE Shop typically sources the materials required for a project. However, we can also work with materials you supply. We can initiate your job starting with anything from a napkin sketch to fully dimensioned drawings or anything in between. The more information you can provide us with up front, the faster we can complete your job. Through open communication, we work closely with our customers to ensure that the right parts are made correctly the first time.

Machining

The CSE Shop has a variety of both CNC and manual machine tools to complete your project.  For information about the machines and processes available in the CSE Shop, see our equipment page.

We use Mastercam to program our machine tools. CAD models can be directly imported and toolpathed by the machinists to create machine code. Preferred CAD formats, in order of preference, are SolidWorks, Parasolid, STEP, SAT, and DXF/DWG. We accept any format but may request another format if we cannot open the files. A nicely equipped inspection area is used to ensure the quality of our work. Inspection equipment ranges from gage blocks and micrometers to a CNC Zeiss Coordinate Measuring Machine.

To complete projects as fast as possible, we stock a good selection of materials including aluminum, brass, copper, stainless steel and a variety of plastics. We also have a small selection of stainless hardware and mechanical components. If we have it on hand, we do sell small quantities of materials and hardware (EFS budget number required).

Welding and joining

The CSE Shop also has multiple welding areas used for primarily TIG, but also MIG welding. The most common material we weld is stainless steel, but we also have capabilities for welding aluminum and other metals. We have a variety of welding fixtures for rotary or linear motion which allows us to produce high quality and repeatable welds. To check weldments that will be used in high vacuum environments, we helium leak check each weld to ensure it is leak tight.

Welding equipment we can use to complete your project includes TIG and MIG welders for general use, a laser welder for small, low heat input precision welds, and a CNC orbital tube welder for perfectly repeatable welds on fittings and tubing up to a half inch in diameter. We also can offer experience in other joining techniques such as soft soldering and brazing.

Repairs

The CSE Shop can assist you with diagnosis and repair of mechanical systems. We have limited abilities to diagnose and repair vacuum pumps but we can evaluate them on a case-by-case basis. We would recommend first contacting the original manufacturer or an aftermarket vacuum specialty business to see if they offer repair services for your pump as they will be the most familiar with its construction and typical problems, but you are free to contact us to discuss your needs as well.

We do not have the expertise or offer services for repairing electronic or electrical systems.

Examples of our work

See examples of what the CSE Shop can do for you.