Resources Available at the Precision Engineering Center (PEC)

On this page:

PEC Labs & Equipment

Other NCSU Facilities

PEC Labs & Equipment

At the heart of the Precision Engineering Center's facility are four temperature-controlled, vibration-isolated laboratories in which faculty, students, and staff develop new ideas for metrology, precision fabrication, and control. The laboratories (temperature controlled at 20 degree C to ±0.03 degree C) are equipped with the most advanced measurement, computational, and fabrication resources worth over $2 million.

Measurement Facilities

The PEC is well equipped for various types of measurement.

Surface Finish and Form Measurement

	Zygo NewView 5000 Interferometric Microscope Noncontact 3D Profilometry Vertical: 0.1 nm resolution/ 5 mm Range Horizontal: 0.5 µm resolution/ 50 mm Range
	Form Talysurf Stylus Profilometer Contact 2D Profilometry 10mg stylus load Vertical: 5 nm resolution/ 6 mm Range Horizontal: 0.5 µm resolution/ 120 mm Range
	Zygo GPI Laser Interferometer Noncontact 3D Surface Measurement Vertical: 2 nm resolution/ 0.1 mm Range Horizontal: 10 µm resolution/ 150 mm Range
	Burleigh Vista Atomic Force Microscope High Resolution Contact, Tapping and Non-Contact Measurement Vertical: 0.1 nm resolution/ 40 µm Range Horizontal: 0.1 µm resolution/ 40 µm Range
	Talystep Stylus Profilometer Contact 2D Profilometry 1mg stylus load (adjustable) Vertical: 1 nm resolution/ 10 µm Range Horizontal: 0.1 µm resolution/ 1 mm Range

Fabrication Facilities

The PEC has purchased or built laboratory-scale and production-scale diamond turning machines (Pneumo ASG2500 and Nano Form 600), precision grinders, and a computer-controlled focused ion beam machining system. Custom controllers have been developed and integrated in these machines tools to improve and expand their performance.

	Rank Pneumo ASG2500 Ultraprecision Lathe Maximum Workpiece Diameter: 300 mm Travel: 250 mm (X-axis), 150 mm (Z-axis) Feedback: Laser Interferometer with 2.5 nm resolution
	Rank Pneumo Nanoform 600 4-axis ultraprecision machining center Maximum Workpiece Diameter: 600 mm Travel: 300 mm (X-axis), 300 mm (Z-axis), 100 mm (Y-axis) Feedback: Laser Interferometer with 1.25 nm resolution (X&Y) High-resolution encoder with 1 nm resolution (Y) High-resolution encoder with 1 arcsec resolution (C)
	Federal Mogul Westwind Grinding Spindle Air Turbine Drive Air Bearing Spindle 0-60 kRPM
	Whinton Grinding Spindle Variable-Frequency Drive Air Bearing Spindle 0-7 kRPM
	Fast Tool Servo (for machining rotationally asymmetric surfaces) Travel: 35 µm Bandwidth: ~1kHz Feedback: ADE Capacitance Gage with 12.5 nm resolution
	Variform Fast Tool Servo (for machining rotationally asymmetric surfaces) Travel: 400 µm Bandwidth: ~300 Hz Feedback: LVDT 10 nm resolution
	Ultramill (A piezoelectric milling device) Travel: 20x8 µm elliptical path Max. operating frequency: 4 KHz

Displacement Measurement

• ADE 3401 Microsense 2-Channel Capacitance
• Rank Pneumo Electronic Indicator Gages
• ADE 3910 2-Channel Capacitance Gage
• Federal Products Electronic Indicators
• LLNL Differential Mode Capacitance Gage
• Lion Precision Targa Capacitance Gage
• Hewlett-Packard Laser Interferometers

LVDT's and Eddy Current Probes Vibration & Force Measurement

• B&K Accelerometers and Instrumented Hammer
• Kistler 3-Axis Load Cells
• PCB Accelerometers and Instrumented Hammer
• Rockland Spectrum Analyzer
• Kistler Accelerometers
• SRS Spectrum Analyzer

Computational Facilities

The PEC's computing facilities include DSP systems for data acquisition and control and workstation PCs connected to the high-speed campus network. Engineering software site licenses for applications such as ANSYS, Maple, Matlab, Mathematica, LS-DYNA and SolidWorks/Cosmos provide access to the latest computing tools for precision engineering.

Other NCSU Facilities

PEC students also have access to other university facilities, such as the North Carolina Supercomputer Center, and regional and national networks. Among the other facilities available to faculty and students are NCSU's Analytical Instrumentation Facility that includes high-resolution scanning electron microscopes and the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina for the production of unique semiconductors, gate array chips, and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).