12/10/2021 Taylor Tucker
Written by Taylor Tucker
Recently featured for his work with covidSHIELD, MechSE Director of Technical Services Ralf Moller has also been involved with the Innovation Studio since 2014. The studio is comprised of workshop space across two locations in the Sidney Lu Mechanical Engineering Building that offer woodshop amenities as well as 3D printing, laser cutting, waterjet cutting, and product assembly space.
“You can build a walking robot or a candy dispensing machine or a car gearbox,” Moller said. “The students have access to hand tools, power tools, and work bench space. They also come for expertise and to collaborate with their peers.”
The beauty of the studio is twofold, as it not only allows students to collaborate on class projects, but also provides them with opportunity for shop training and leadership.
“What we do is try to attract volunteers for about two to three hours per week,” Moller explained. “After they’ve worked for us for a semester, we’ll offer them an undergrad paid position as a room monitor or technician if there’s an opening.”
Both undergraduate and graduate students can use the equipment, and the doors are open to majors beyond engineering. Employees receive in-house training so they can then assist their peers in using the tools and making design decisions.
“They get experience not only helping others but also figuring out [design and manufacturing processes],” Moller said. “Should I 3D print it? Should I laser cut it? And they’ll encounter those questions again in an engineering job.”
Moller, who is in charge of staffing for the studio, is feeling the impact of the pandemic on the studio’s ability to stay open. Pre-pandemic, the studio would keep nearly two dozen students on staff each semester so that it could offer 10:00 am to midnight hours during the week and modified hours on the weekends.
“Right now, we have nine folks and we’re trying to be open between 10:00 and 20:00,” Moller said. “Sometimes it’s really challenging to find enough people. The demand for the studio is definitely there this semester.”
Former MechSE student Elizabeth Pierson (BSME ’21) started out as a volunteer, then transitioned to room monitor and ultimately sub-manager, organizing shift schedules and training new volunteers in addition to assisting students with projects. “I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, and I got great experience in different areas,” Pierson said. “All of the people that I worked with were friendly and knowledgeable and ran the studio really well.”
Now an engineer in the rotational program at Littelfuse, Pierson credits her time at the studio as good preparation for her current position in a number of ways, from developing organizational and troubleshooting skills to gaining hands-on experience with a focus on safety. Similarly, fellow alumna Paige Powell (BSME ’20) followed her interest in hands-on design from the studio to her current role as a product manager at Hinetics, building electric motor prototypes and related testing apparatus in the Research Park in Champaign.
“I got to spend hours working with my hands, fixing broken printers, doing small improvement projects for the lab space,” Powell said of her time as a technical sub-manager. “I loved working there.”
The former students’ passion for hands-on work is gratifying to Moller, who sees the studio as a wonderful opportunity to support these interests. He originally received his own machine shop training through an electronics apprenticeship in his native Germany, working with metals, plastics, and simple machine tools before moving on to soldering and circuit boards.
“I was asked if I’d like to come on board for the studio after doing facilities for ten years at ACES and three years at MechSE, and I said it’s time to change,” Moller said. “That worked out pretty well.”