Mechanical Engineering labs and facilities

Our laboratory facilities are equipped to perform a range of measuring and analysis functions, including:  

• Hearing protection test measurement facilities (fixtures and facility compliant with relevant international standards) 
• Ceiling flanking noise facility compliant with ASTM E1414 
• Sound absorption (impedance tube, air flow resistance and reverberation room measurements to relevant international standards)
• Traffic noise barrier attenuation measurement system 
• Low noise wind tunnel for aero acoustic measurements 
• Facility for assessing human response to noise 
• Sound intensity systems 
• Environmental noise measurement and analysis facilities 
• Fan noise test facility compliant with relevant international standards
• Software available includes SoundPlan, ANSYS and ENC

For more information about these facilities contact:

This laboratory provides students and staff with access to numerous robots that are used in both teaching and research:

• Universal Robot 6-DOF UR5 collaborative robots (3)
• Nachi MZ-07 6-DOF industrial robots (2)
• Epson G10 4-DOF SCARA robot (10

The laboratory also contains a number of state-of-the-art dDSPACE real-time control prototyping systems:

• dSPACE DS1104 SBCs (4)
• dSPACE DS1105-based multi-board processors (2)

In addition, the laboratory also contains the Low-Risk Clinical Unit that is used for testing novel biomedical apparatus and techniques developed in-house by staff and students.

Finally, five workstations are available for use by final year student project groups.

For more information about this facility contact:

This laboratory provides support for the Mechatronics program with work and study space. Tools and equipment, and specialised lab kitsets are provided to support a number of Mechatronics and Mechanical undergraduate courses.

Key equipment:

• 44 Work areas spread across 2 rooms
• 34 team work areas(Room 214) Capacity of 88 students
• 10 team work areas(Room 220) Capacity of 26 students
• Each work area includes: Shared oscilloscope, Shared Signal Generator, Fluke Multimeter, Soldering iron, Power suppl, Antistatic Mat and wrist band, Shared tools
• Shared oscilloscope
• Shared Signal Generator
• Fluke Multimeter
• Soldering iron
• Power supply
• Antistatic Mat and wrist band
• Shared tools
• 58 Windows PC workstations
• 35 3D printers with fume extraction system
• 5 Optical microscopes for SMD circuit board work, along with image capture
• 20 National Instruments Data Acquisition devices, with Labview support software
• Optitrack Motion capture system
• Battery charger station with fire safety system
• Force meters and calibration weights
• An assortment of handheld measurement equipment to quantify real world signals, i.e., temperature, EMC, air pressure, air speed, rotational speed, capacitance, distance, force, weight, radiation, material hardness
• Equipment for electronics manufacture, i.e., hot air gun, oven, heating plate, specialist soldering equipment.

For more information about these facilities contact:

The UCEM is a comprehensive electron microscopy laboratory that provides a range of specialised characterisation techniques for studying materials. Short courses are available to train users within UC. External visitors are also welcome to use these facilities with training or with the assistance of our technical staff.

Internal and external users can book a session on the electron microscope after receiving training or with the assistance of our technical staff. 

Electron Microscopy

Bruker Dimension Icon-IR Atomic Force Microscope

• AFM- Infrared spectroscopy with 10nm spatial resolution
• Heated nano-DMA stage and high frequency nano-DMA stage
• Quantitative nano mechanical property measurement including contact resonance technique
• Peak force tunnelling AFM (PF-TUNA) high sensitivity current sense module
• Nitrogen/dry air environment purge
• Fluid probe holder module

JEOL JSM IT-300 variable pressure scanning electron microscope

• Oxford Aztec SDD energy dispersive x-ray analysis system
• Aztec/HKL Electron Backscattered Detector (EBSD) system
• Aztec Large area mapping and Feature software
• Forescatter and backscatter electron detectors
• Evactron E50 Plasma decontaminator

Philips CM200 high resolution analytical transmission electron microscope

• Single and double tilt holders
• Oxford INCA energy dispersive x-ray analysis system
• Gatan digital camera

JEOL JSM 7000F field emission, high resolution scanning electron microscope

• JEOL energy dispersive x-ray analysis system
• Backscatter electron detector
• Infrared chamber camera
• Gatan Cathodoluminescence detector

Philips CM120  transmission electron microscope (available from late 2017)

• Single and double tilt holders

Optical Microscopy

• Leica DM-IRM inverted metallurgical research microscope with digital image capture systems
• Olympus reflected light optical microscopes with image capture systems
• Olympus stereo optical microscope
• Zeiss AxioZoom V.16 stereo optical microscope with automated stage, image stitching and focus stacking

Sample Preparation

• Gatan Precision ion polishing system (PIPS)
• Fischione dual jet electropolisher
• Diamond saws for composite and metallic sample preparation
• Buehler Automated mounting press
• Buehler and Leco Automated polishing systems
• UV/Ozone cleaner
• Quorum 150T-ES Timed sputter and carbon evaporation coater

For more information about this facility contact:

The University of Canterbury Aerodynamics and Optics laboratories offer a wide range of facilities for studies in experimental fluid mechanics, including sports aerodynamics, vehicle aerodynamics, atmospheric boundary layer studies, aero-acoustics studies, and hydrodynamics.

The Aero lab houses two subsonic wind tunnels, the Closed-Circuit Wind Tunnel achieving wind speeds up to 200 km/h, and a low-noise Open-Circuit Wind Tunnel (one of only two in Australasia) accommodating multiple nozzles with conditioned flow of up to 140 km/h. Turbulence intensities are ~1% and the velocity is uniform to within 5%.

The Optics lab is equipped with a fully instrumented and interfaced Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) setup for non-invasive quantitative flow measurements, a Schlieren imaging system for studding acoustic and inhomogeneous flow density fields, and a high-speed camera for imaging up to 1 million frames per second.

These facilities are used for teaching fluid mechanics, supporting Final Year Projects and postgraduate research, and are available to external users on a fee basis.

Available equipment includes:

Aerodynamic & Airflow Testing:

• Aeronautical closed-circuit wind tunnel - 1.25m x 0.91m with a 2.5m long working section, max. air speed 55m/s (200kph)..
• Atmospheric boundary-layer wind tunnel - 1.23m x 1.26m with a 13.1m long working section, max. air speed 26m/s (94kph) - with low noise working section..
• Six- and three- axis force balances.
• Various pressure measurement systems.
• Athlete and sports equipment aerodynamics testing platform.
• Dantec miniCTA hotwire anemometry system with associated software (single and 3-axis probes).
•  Smoke flow visualisation equipment..
•  Various air-flow anemometers and manometers.
• A range of microphones and attachments for measuring airflow noise.

Hydrodynamics Testing & Fluid Flow Visualisation:

• StereoPIV measurement equipment with a 120mJ double pulse Nd:YAG laser, 2x TSI 4MP cameras, 2x Dantec 2MP cameras..
• Photron SA5 high speed camera..
• TecQuipment fluid mechanics flow measurement benches.
• 2-axis Spin coating machine -100mm substrates with speeds up to 1200rpm.
• Curved surface optical characterization instrument - Thetametrisis FR-pOrtable.
• UAV FLIGHT TESTING:
• UAV rotor thrust rig.
• UAV motion capture facility with configurable highspeed camera rig.

For more information about this facility contact:

Mechanical testing

• MTS 810 servo-hydraulic testing system for static and dynamic tests up to 100 kN. It features hydraulic grips for tensile testing and fixtures for compression testing, and three- and four-point bending.
• MTS 858 servo-hydraulic testing system for static and dynamic tests up to 10 kN. It features, tensile testing, and three-point bending fixtures.
• MTS Criterion C43.104E electromechanical system for static tests up to 10 kN. It includes multiple load cells (100 N, 500 N, 2.5 kN, and 10 kN); manual grips for tensile testing; fixtures for compression testing, and three- and four-point bending; a bio-chamber for fluid immersion testing; and an environmental chamber for testing at temperatures up to 300°C.
• Instron ElectroPuls E3000 electrodynamic system for static and dynamic tests of low-strength materials. It features a biaxial motor and load cells that allows combined axial and torsional testing (up to 3 kN and 25 Nm). It includes fatigue-rated pneumatic grips for tensile testing and fixtures for compression testing, and three- and four-point bending.
• Various extensometers for strain measurement, including one non-contact optical extensometer, one high-elongation extensometer with 250 mm travel, and several contact axial extensometers with gauge lengths up to 50 mm and travels up to 50% strain.
• Zwick/Roell (Indentec) ZHR8150CLK Rockwell hardness tester with test load range from 0.5 kg to 250 kg. It includes accessories to access most regular and superficial Rockwell scales, the Brinell Depth Method, and the standard Brinell method (indentation only).
• Struers Duramin-40 A2 Vickers hardness tester with a test load range from 10 gf to 31.25 kgf. It features load cell technology and an automatic XY stage for semi-automated testing.
• Assorted hardness/microhardness testing machines for regular Brinell, Vickers and Rockwell scales; and durometers for the Shore A and D scales.
• Avery Charpy Iimpact Ttester for metals and advanced composite materials (300 J pendulum).
• Zwick/Roell HIT 50P Charpy impact tester for and advanced compositespolymers and composite materials (15 J and 50 J pendulums).

Thermomechanical Analysis

• TA Instruments Q800 Dynamic Mechanical Analyser (DMA) with humidity controller for viscoelasticity (damping) measurements up to 18 N. The specifications include a frequency range from 0.01 to 200 Hz, a temperature range from -150 to 600°C, and heating/cooling rates up to 20°C/min and 10°C/min, respectively.
• Perkin Elmer DSC 8000 Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) with a temperature range from -180 to 750°C and heating/cooling rates up to 300°C/min and 150°C/min, respectively.
• Netzsch TMA 402 F1 Thermal Mechanical Analyser (TMA) with a measurement range from -2500 to 2500 µm and two furnaces (silicon carbide and copper) for testing from -150 to 1550°C.
• Thermo Scientific Nicolet iS20 Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer (FTIR) for high-quality spectral measurements in polymers.

 Environmental testing

• BioLogic VSP potentiostat system (5-channel chassis, 3 channels/modules available), EC-Lab software, EIS analyser, 1 flat cell, Pt counter electrode, saturated calomel reference electrode, CO2 incubator for pH-controlled corrosion testing in simulated body fluids/proteins, etc.
• Microprobe electrochemical analysis system (custom-made) for microstructure-level corrosion measurements.
• Hydrogen evolution measurement set-up (custom-made) for corrosion of Mg alloys.

Processing and Heat Treatment

• 10 kW vacuum Aragon atmosphere induction furnace for casting high purity aluminium and magnesium alloys
• Various radiant furnaces from 200-2000°C for heat treatment and sintering
• Oil and water quench baths.
• Laboratory cold and hot rolling mill.
• Gibitre Instruments hot press for polymer and composites manufacture with vacuum frame.
• Set-up for wet lay-up and vacuum bag processing of composite laminates.

For more information about any of these facilities contact:

Available equipment includes:

• Compact electrode boiler operating at up to 1.7 MPa as a steam source for a throttling calorimeter used to determine the dryness fraction of steam.
• Two self-contained refrigeration/heat pump experimental test facilities
• Instrumentation to conduct thermal analysis, including TEMPOS Thermal Properties Analyser, IR Cameras, and thermocouple probes with data logging

For more information about any of these facilities contact:

3D Printers

• 6 x Bambu Labs X1 series FDM printers with AMS Multi-filament control. Capable of printing multiple materials including ABS, PLA, Nylon and Carbon Fibre infused filaments. AI Print monitoring and Failure detection. Build volume 256 x 256 x 256mm.
• 2x Creality CR10 Max large form FDM printers. Build volume 450 x 450 x 470mm.
• FDM printer farm containing 25 machines. Including, 12x Bambu Labs P1S, Prusa Mk3s and Prusa Mini+. PLA material is exclusively selected for this print farm to allow streamlined recycling of 3D Print waste.
• Stratasys F320 FDM machine (very good for printing ABS). 

3D Scanners

• Artec Eva handheld scanner. Moderate detail. Subject dimensions from the size of a football to a SUV.
• Artec Spider handheld scanner. Fine detail. Subject dimensions from the size of a coin to a human bust.
• 3D Systems Sense handheld scanner. Coarse detail. Subject dimensions from the size of a cup to a SUV.
• Kreon laser scanner matched with new Geomagic Wrap software. Suited to scanning objects in the 10mm to 500mm size range. It can be used in conjunction with Touch-probe.

Scan to CAD software

• Geomagics Design X. Used for converting scanner STL files to CAD models.

Laser Cutter

• Thunderlaser MARS 120. It can cut 1/4 non-metal sheet material, including wood, plastics, paper, rubber, among others.

For further details about these resources contact:

There are three designated spaces for performing chemistry work in the Mechanical Engineering Department. The available equipment includes:

• Various fume cupboards.
• Large vacuum glove box.
• Dangerous Goods (DG) cabinets for storing hazardous substances.

These are restricted access laboratories and only trained operators are allowed access.

For more information about this facility contact:

The electronics workshop is able to develop fully customised electronics for research projects using modern surface mount technology. The electronics workshop is also responsible for general fault diagnosis and repair, electrical safety testing and computer interfacing.

Projects are documented and designed using Altium design software.

The electronics staff also write specialised software for various research projects using LabVIEW. Other specialist software tools are used for developing embedded systems. The workshop has a comprehensive set of National Instruments data acquisition and control products available for loan to research projects.

The workshop also has surface mount device capability, along with other general electronic workshop facilities.  

For more information about this facility contact:

A comprehensive workshop is available to support both undergraduate teaching and research activities. The mechanical workshop facilities consist of three distinct areas:

Staff Workshop

This is our most specialised mechanical workshop.

Approved users may have limited access to the workshop equipment in this area for research-related work by arrangement. All approved users must have completed the 35-hour workshop training course.

Student Training Workshop

The comprehensive equipment available in this area is used by a qualified instructor to conduct a compulsory, 35-hour workshop training course for undergraduate students. The equipment in this area is also available for postgraduate students when not being used as a training facility by arrangement.

Student Project Workshop

These facilities are available for students who have completed their 35-hour workshop training course or have been exempted from that course. Students must first go through a Health & Safety induction before they can work in these areas.

For details about using the workshop contact: