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Home /Safety/Laboratory Safety/Physical, Mechanical, and Electrical (PME) Hazards/ Workshop Safety

Workshop Safety

overviews

In KAUST there are several, state-of-the-art, machinery and mechanical tools workshops for serving the researchers in their prototyping and fabrication projects. All of these workshop spaces, machines, and tools arecontrolled and managed by the “The Prototyping and Product Development Core Lab”.


The prototyping and Product Development Core Lab workshops machines serve the following areas:

Reverse Engineering

The Reverse Engineering Lab (REL) provides dimensional, analytical and electrical quality inspections, and is equipped for reverse engineering through three-dimensional positional analysis application. For a listing of capabilities available in this area please click here.

Welding

  • The Welding Lab offers expertise in welding stainless and carbon steels, aluminum and various other materials using a variety of equipment, including MIG, TIG, ARC and fiber optic laser.

For a listing of capabilities available in this area please click here.

Electronics Engineering

The Electronics Fabrication Lab (EFL) provides customized design and prototyping of electronic and mechatronic devices. Our engineersspecialize in software development and fabrication of electrical and electronics, such as instrumentation and motion control, data acquisition with system design, image/data analysis, hardware modification/upgrade, circuit design – analog/digital, printed circuit boards and root cause analysis.

For a listing of capabilities available in this area please click here.

Projects And Engineering

Mechanical design engineering combines an understanding of mechanical design with materialsʼ properties and manufacturing technologies. Our expertise includes CAD, 3D modeling, additive manufacturing, flow and stress analyses, sheet metal works, motion studies, and much more.

For a listing of capabilities available in this area please click here.

The Scientific Glassblowing Lab (SGL)

SGL is Specializes in the design, fabrication and repair of all types of scientific glassware. It is equipped to work with both borosilicate and quartz glass, thus covering most requirements of research. Borosilicate glass has a high chemical resistance and excellent thermal capacity. Quartz is superior in purity having excellent optical transmittance in the UV, and can withstand temperatures up to 1,200°C.

For a listing of capabilities available in this area please click here.

Machining And Rapid Prototyping

  • The CFL is currently where most machining, 3D printing, additive manufacturing, and fabrication work takes place. It is in the process of being converted into a user space for fabrication of prototyping and product development projects.
  • The IFL provides the most comprehensive space for prototyping projects, which offers a design studio catering to individual projects, as well as group design challenges. For fabrication work, there is a metal and woodworking area featuring small hand tools to large cutting, turning, milling and sanding machines. The rapid prototyping room contains machines and tools for laser and waterjet cutting, 3D printing, screen- printing, vacuum formation, electronics fabrication and characterization, and much more.
  • The HFL is where the largest CNC manufactured work is processed. It specializes in the cutting of meter-sized sheet materials using laser and waterjet technologies. It is where multi-meter sized milling and turning, large metal bending, and painting/powder coating jobs are completed. The HFL is also host to the current Machinist Development Apprenticeship Program (MDAP).

For a listing of capabilities available in this area please click here.

 

For the data base of the machines and its location in KAUST please visit: https://corelabs.kaust.edu.sa/services/equipment

Hazards

The followings summarizes the general sources of hazards:

Drilling Tools:

Electric drills, pneumatic drill, underwater electric drill.

Fabrication machines:

Milling machines, lath machines, CNC machines, laser cutting machines

Cutting machines:

Table saws, drop saw, dimond dicing saws, diamond saw, routers.

Welding machines:

Potential hazard:

  • Electric shock, physical injuries from flying debris, blades, eye injuries
  • Breathing dust produced from cutting, milling, grinding
  • Breathing fumes produced from welding
  • Eye Exposure to arc generated from the welding process
  • Exposed skin to UV generated from the welding arc
  • Slipping and tripping caused by coolant leakage and obstacles
  • Physical injuries resulting from Heavy items and heavy tools falling
  • Exposure to noise

Process / General Requirements

Hazard & Risk Assessment

All the machine specifications should be studied and analyzed against the national and international standard specifications as well as the KAUST in- house standards related to: design, electricity, safety … etc The process and techniques where the machines will be used for, should be studied and analyzed for t the potential hazard and safety optimization

All the required hazard controls should be studied and applied: administrative, engineer and PPE

Recommendations for controls and PPE for each process and operation:
1. Cold work and Hand tools only.
External Radiation Dose
Standard PPE

Safety Gloves – Safety Glasses –Face Shield - Safety Shoes incase heavy items (more than 20 kg) is handled

Engineering controls

- - - -

2. Hot work includes handling the material by hand with electric tools (drills – rotating tools).
External Radiation Dose
Standard PPE

Safety Glasses – Face Shield

Engineering controls

Safety Guards

3. Hot work includes working with electric cutting tools (table saws- mightier saws)
External Radiation Dose
Standard PPE

Safety Gloves – Safety Glasses –Face Shield

Engineering controls

Machine safety guards-ventilation – dust vacuum

4. Hot work includes working with high speed rotating tools (milling, lath machines, routers)
External Radiation Dose
Standard PPE

Safety Gloves – Safety Glasses –Face Shield

Engineering controls

Machine safety guards/enclosure - ventilation – dust vacuum

5. Hot work incudes working with automatic fabrication machines (CNC – Dicing saws)
External Radiation Dose
Standard PPE

Safety Gloves – Safety Glasses –Face Shield

Engineering controls

Machine safety guards/enclosure- ventilation

6. Hot work incudes working with welding machines (TIG, MIG, ARC, fiber optic lasers)
External Radiation Dose
Standard PPE

Safety welding gloves, welding apron, auto darkening welding Helmut

Engineering controls

Ventilation – fumes vacuum

Controls Design & Implementation Training

Training is considered part of the administrative controls to reduce the potential hazardous.
The “Manufacturability Course”, available in the course catalog, is the required course for entering the workshops and handle the machines and tools.

As part of the KAUST Core Labs and Research Infrastructureʼs educational mandate, our expert staff members run training modules for our users on all equipment suitable for independent use.

As independent use broadens awareness of processes and facilitates ownership of method and data acquisition, we encourage all of our users to work independently when possible. Our staff will always be on hand to offer ongoing support and advice when needed.

Training modules, which are run bi-annually, are open to the KAUST academic community and our external users who have a service agreement with KAUST.

To be eligible for training, all applicants must first be registered on Infinity, our central booking system. For more information about Infinity, please contact clhelpdesk@kaust.edu.sa

Requirements for Manufacturability course:

01

Registration in infinity system and having active infinity account

02

HSE mandatory safety training.

03

Lab safety

04

Emergency and preparedness

05

Hazardous waste

Training

None

Monitoring & Sampling

None

Signs & Labels

None

Useful Resources

Useful Resources
Infinity
HSE mandatory safety training:
Lab safety Emergency and preparedness Hazardous waste Available core labs course catalog Registration guide from A to Z Equipment database

The Prototyping and Product Development Core Lab Training inquiries: PCL.TeamLeads@kaust.edu.sa