The workshops are working at full speed

Just a stone's throw from the campus pulse, the people who take care of the University's workshops work. In building 45, Heimdall, there is a wood and metal workshop, lab hall, 3D printer and much more that everyone in the organization can benefit from in education and research.

Entering the workshop premises is a great contrast to the academic environment we often encounter in the other buildings of the University. There are big noisy machines, the smell of metal hangs in the air and there are tools of all kinds everywhere.

– Many people probably don't know we exist. But our task is to support research and education, and we are a resource for the entire University, says Rickard Larsson, workshop manager.

Has a wide range of practical elements

The building houses the industrial design program, and students from the engineering and surveying programs also carry out various laboratory work there.

– Students come here and get help, for example with various projects or their degree projects. We have a wide range of practical elements and are very flexible. We also have external companies that come here and carry out tests to verify their own equipment, says Dario Senkic, a laboratory engineer specializing in the mechanical field, such as the design and manufacture of tools.

Researchers also carry out tests in the workshops.

– In research there is a lot of theory, but often researchers need to do practical elements and then we help with the practical part and laboratory work that is required for there to be any results in the research, says Mikael Sundberg, research engineer who works a lot with measurement technology and helps to convert theoretical calculations into practice.

The building houses lots of machines

Among other things, he is involved in a project where researchers are investigating how rooms can be ventilated to reduce the risk of infections spreading. For example, there is a glass cage where they are experimenting with soap bubbles to see how the air and particles we breathe out move in a room when we sit there together.

There is also a space that can be furnished like an apartment in different ways to test how the room can be ventilated.

The building houses a variety of advanced machines, such as hydraulic presses, 3D printers, CNC milling machines, lathes, woodworking shops, metal and plastic processing machines, laser cutters and more.

– We have most things and if there is something we do not have, we can pass it on. We are here for the whole school and you are welcome to discuss your thoughts with us as we have expertise in different areas, says Rickard Larsson.

Turning theory into practice

Safety is paramount and during various projects and laboratory work, students always receive training in the machine they will be using. Each machine also has a sign with safety information.

It is often when the students carry out various tests that the penny drops.

– They have seen curves in theory in their training, but when they come here and carry out laboratory work and tests, they say: now I understand! The theory is transformed into practice and they understand how everything is connected, says Rickard Larsson.

Text: Anna Sällberg