Advanced Wood Products Laboratory

AWPL Academic Use Policy

As the use of computer-based manufacturing and prototyping technologies have increased in the College of Architecture, so too have academic demands on the resources of the Advanced Wood Products Laboratory. This document outlines the policies and procedures for faculty and student access to the laboratory. Our intent is to provide safe and controlled access to machines and training, so that both faculty and students can benefit from the world-class machinery available at AWPL.

AWPL Mission

The AWPL mission focuses on training for CNC (computer numerical control) programmers and operators, on research into new materials and processes for the secondary wood products industry, on demonstration of CNC technologies to improve industry competitiveness, and on education for traditional Georgia Tech students. The primary revenues for AWPL come from our continuing education program, from state "economic development" funds, and from external research. It is important for our stakeholders to be aware that the primary AWPL focus is on supporting its revenue generating programs, and that academic support, while important, is only one of our functions.

AWPL does not intend to replace or support activities that already take place in the college shop facilities. Manual wood-working, model making, and prototype building should be completed in the college shop. Recent investments in academic focused CNC technologies, such as the laser cutter and stereo lithography "printer" are increasing the ability of the college to support the need to translate the digital into the physical.

Nevertheless, there are clear areas where AWPL and the college benefit from collaboration. AWPL will focus on supporting the creative work of faculty and the needs of academic programs within the college (and within the larger Georgia Tech community where possible). AWPL is committed to training design students in CNC technology and in developing a certificate program in CNC manufacturing (primarily at the graduate level, for students in Industrial Design and Architecture). Our access policy therefore reinforces the academic mission of the AWPL and makes best use of our limited staff.

Faculty Access

College faculty and research staff are encouraged to bring research and creative work into the lab. AWPL is committed to proving access to both funded and unfunded research activities, and to helping faculty acquire funding for collaborative work (e.g., through GTF funds). We also support the work of other research centers within the college and within Georgia Tech. In general, AWPL will provide training (for research-funded students or faculty), design expertise/consulting, and machine access. We may also provide materials from donated stock where available. In most cases, AWPL cannot provide product prototyping or CAD support to a project. It is expected that faculty will complete design drawings, CAD representations, and CAM programming themselves, or will hire AWPL-trained research students to support their work. AWPL provides multiple avenues for CNC training, as described below.

Access for Students in COA Courses

AWPL will focus on supporting student work that occurs within the context of courses offered by college faculty. In some courses, where digital design and manufacturing are a primary focus, AWPL may be the effective "home" for the course for the entire semester. In other courses, a short interaction of two to four weeks may be scheduled to occur at AWPL. In any case, the use of the AWPL by a given course must be coordinated one term in advance. Specific guidelines for COA faculty have been established by AWPL and reviewed by COA academic administrators. Faculty interested in using AWPL resources in their courses should contact Karl Brohammer or Russell Gentry for a copy of these guidelines.

The procedure for class access to AWPL will generally be as follows. The faculty member in charge of the class will allow for a minimum of two weeks of training for the students. Usually, all other coursework and class meetings are canceled while the student receives this training. Alan Harp will provide CAD-CAM instruction during this time period and will lead the students in a small design-build exercise. This exercise can be integrated within the context of the course, but this integration must be done well before the semester begins.

It is important to note that AWPL can only train 9 students at a time (this due to a limitation of classroom and project assembly space, and due to the inherent hands-on nature of the work that we do). We therefore cannot accommodate classes with more than 9 students without scheduling two separate sections of training. We feel that a single section of 9 students is preferred and that this is a reasonable limit for classes that intend on training and prototyping on CNC equipment within AWPL.

In the past, software has been a limiting factor for students and faculty using AWPL. AWPL has not had access to the full suite of design software (3D Viz, Rhino, FormZ …) and the college has not had access to CAM software (AlphaCam). Planned upgrades to AWPL and COA computer facilities have addressed this limitation. AWPL has updated the computers in its teaching laboratories and is supporting a wider range of software for model generation. The college has purchased a site license for AlphaCam (the primary software used for crafting the CNC code that drives our machines) for use at the college. Nevertheless, it is important for faculty to communicate their software requirements to AWPL as part of the planning process, so that we can accommodate your students and their design process.

Access for Students Outside of COA Courses

AWPL will not be open for "drop in" use for students who are not part of a COA course where the instructor has coordinated access and training for the entire class.

Students who have received AWPL training from previous AWPL-sponsored courses may be allowed access to AWPL for specific projects (such as an ID or ARCH thesis projects) but this access will be made available only as resources allow. Students must receive permission from Alan Harp or Karl Brohammer before undertaking a project at AWPL.

Complementary Enrollment in AWPL Continuing Education Courses

AWPL offers week-long courses for industry which run 8 hours per day for 5 days. The courses listed as AWPL 101 and AWPL 108 on our website ( www.awpl.org ) are introductory-level courses and are suitable for CAD-CAM training for faculty or students. It is best that students have some knowledge of CAD before attending. Where space is available, faculty or students are welcome in these courses. These courses may not be held as scheduled based on the paid enrollment in these courses. COA students may be "bumped" from these courses based on the demands from our paying trainees. It is important to note that these course run all day long for an entire week and that the pace of these courses has been tailored for students with minimal computer skills and background.

Faculty wishing to attend must pre-register for the given course by contacting Ms. Leigh McClelland at the AWPL. Students wishing to attend must receive permission from Karl Brohammer (laboratory director) and will then be directed to contact Ms. McClelland.

Hours of Operation, Machine Use, CNC Verification

Students in approved COA courses will be allowed at AWPL anytime M-F, 8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to use the CNC software in the mezzanine computer classroom (except during those times when the classroom is in use). The classroom will also be open during evening hours when a machine supervisor is on duty. Design, visualization, and CNC software are available on these computers. This classroom is the primary location for translation of digital design or "CAD" data into digital manufacturing or "CAM" data.

It is our philosophy that students and faculty will learn to use the CNC machine centers, not just to program them, the CNC machines will not be a "black box" that produces parts for student projects. All students in the lab will receive introductory machine-side training, so that they can understand the steps necessary to create, verify, and execute their CNC programs. All students will create their own CNC code using AlphaCam to generate the toolpaths. Introductory students will observe the machining process, and will assist the machine supervisor in loading, verifying and executing their CNC code. Intermediate students may load their own materials, and may complete an initial verification of their CNC code without the machine supervisor. Advanced students are expected to have competence equal to that of one of our machine supervisors and will be allowed to load, verify and execute their programs with minimal review from AWPL staff.

It is difficult to provide exact training requirements for introductory, intermediate, and advanced students. Introductory students are generally in their first semester at AWPL and are completing their first or second CNC project. Intermediate students have completed a semester-long course at AWPL, and have been introduced to concepts such as 3-D contouring and fixturing. Advanced students have demonstrated proficiency in the CNC machine interface (Xilog, MMI, Aspan) and have completed multiple CNC projects. In the past, only students who are involved in AWPL research or in year-long courses have been considered to be advanced students.

Regardless of training level, all students are required to sit with a machine supervisor and verify their CNC programming with the machine supervisor before they can run parts on the CNC machines.

Certificate in Digital Design and Manufacturing

AWPL supports the development of a certificate program in design and CNC manufacturing in the College of Architecture . It is envisioned that this certificate will be available initially to graduate students in Industrial Design and Architecture. Early proposals for the certificate focused on furniture, but we acknowledge that furniture is only one of the emphases of the students who work within the lab.

When the certificate program is established, it must be supported by academic units within the college, and must be based on established courses within the ID and Architecture curriculum. At this time, most of the courses taught at AWPL are special topics courses that are not offered on a consistent basis. AWPL is interested in working with faculty to formalize their courses, so that they can be made available on a consistent basis and thus become part of the CNC certificate program.

Shop Safety

All students and faculty working within AWPL must follow safety procedures. It is expected that all students working within AWPL have received the safety training and certification provided in the college shop. AWPL will provide an additional safety briefing as part of the CNC training, and students will be expected to sign a shop safety acknowledgement form. In addition to being safe around the automated wood processing equipment, students must be instructed on and have permission to use ancillary woodworking equipment: joiner, planer, band saws, table saw, lathe, routers, etc. Metalworking equipment and other specialized equipment (e.g., materials test stands) are off limits to students and faculty unless special use permission has been granted. Part of safety is keeping a clean and well-organized shop. Students are required to clean up after themselves and replace tools on a daily basis.

In no instance should one person be working on the CNC equipment by him or herself, without the presence of a buddy or other person, who is aware of their work.

In addition to safety in the shop, it is important to note that the AWPL is on the perimeter of campus, and that the same personal safety concerns that we have for students and faculty at the college apply at the AWPL. During evening hours of operation, it is suggested that students drive to AWPL or use the GT Stingerette service. The machine supervisor will escort students to their vehicles or verify that they have been picked up during evening hour departures.