Every student at the Colorado School of Mines has to take a class called Field Session, in which they do coursework and projects relating to their respective major. For Engineering Physics students they spend six weeks learning about various topics ranging from 3D fabrication to vacuum systems. Part of this six weeks is spent in a machine shop learning how to build a specific project. For 2017 this was the pendulum shown below. I was a teaching assistant responsible for showing students how to safely operate the manual mills and the CNC, computer-numerically controlled, lathes. Over the course of the week they learned all of the necessary skills needed to build their very own pendulum. While these skills are only the basics of machining, they allow the students to feel comfortable coming into the shop to build some of their own designs. This project also did the same for me, as it helped me remember how to use the machines to create what I needed to. It also allowed me to get more comfortable with my using of these machines.
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