Central Shops

To support Argonne's world-class R&D programs, the Laboratory’s Technical Services Division operates a state-of-the-art manufacturing and machining facility, called Central Shops, to meet unique experimental and inspection needs. These specialty machine shop services are also offered to academic, governmental, and private-sector organizations through Technical Service Agreements.

Custom quotes are available upon request: contact the Central Shops manager to discuss work scope, obtain a price and schedule quote, and initiate the necessary paperwork between your organization and Argonne.

Argonne's central machine shops provide skilled experts and versatile capabilities to meet the research community's needs for specialty shop work:

• State-of-the-art manufacturing and welding engineering and design review.
• Conventional and computer numerical control machining.
• Nontraditional machining with wire or ram electrical discharge machines.
• Custom electronic instrumentation, including data-acquisition, control and measurement tools, and miscellaneous interface devices.
• Machining "hot" materials, such as natural or depleted uranium, thorium, and irradiated materials.
• Fabrication of model and sheet metal components, such as panels or chassis for electronic controls, and enclosures of all sizes, including walk-in ventilated rooms.
• Fabrication of hoods and ducting for exhaust units and HVAC applications.
• Joining virtually any metallic components via welding and brazing processes that include gas metal arc, gas tungsten arc, shielded metal arc, and electron beam welding.
• Joining dissimilar metals and ceramics by vacuum or hydrogen brazing processes.
• Manufacturing optical components from crystals, metals, optical glass, and other materials.
• Repairing machine tools, vacuum pumps, electric motors, and experimental hardware.
• Complete inspection services, including direct computer-controlled coordinate measuring machines, nondestructive testing, and helium leak and pressure testing.

Engineering and Design

Central Shops engineers stand ready to assist with fabricated product designs. Evaluations for manufacturability, together with tooling and fixture design, help control costs and meet required specifications and schedules. We offer free cost estimates and delivery scheduling. We evaluate customer-specified welding, brazing, and heat treatment requirements, and we assist in weld joint design and material selection.

Inspection and Testing

Central Shops maintains state-of-the-art inspection and testing capabilities that directly support both conventional and advanced machining, as well as fabrication activities. We also offer calibrated measurement data and reverse engineering. Central Shops provides nondestructive evaluation in the form of American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) certified mass spectrometer leak detection and liquid penetrant inspection. We also offer visual inspection and hydrostatic pressure testing. We maintain and calibrate our inspection and testing equipment in accordance with specifications set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Central Shops employees are certified to meet American Society for Quality Control and ASNT requirements.

Equipment Maintenance and Repair

Central Shops assists with preventive maintenance inspections, equipment leveling and alignment, vibration analysis, and laser interferometry. We also provide a full array of rebuilding and repair services, including electric motor repair, pump and valve rebuilding, valve seat resurfacing, vacuum pump repair, welding, and machining.

Machining

Our diverse machining and metal-cutting capabilities encompass conventional and manual machines, computer numerical control machining and turning centers, and nontraditional machines (such as computer numerical control wire and ram electrical discharge machines). In addition, we can handle the machining of many radioactive materials.

Optics

We fabricate optical elements and precision instrument components in a wide range of materials. Our activities include sawing, diamond drilling and lapping, ultrasonic drilling and coring, slotting, grinding, lapping, crystal orienting, optical centering, polishing, inspection and cleaning. We also offer consultation on optical manufacturing feasibility.

Electronics Technology

We provide custom electronics fabrication services in support of scientific programs at Argonne. Our highly specialized Electronics Technology group can assist you in the development and fabrication of a wide variety of electronic instrumentation and translate your ideas into working hardware. The scope of our work ranges from assembly of printed circuit boards (PCBs) to complete turnkey products.

Sheet Metal and Model Fabrication

Central Shops personnel work closely with engineers and scientists to develop components and suggest fabrication alternatives to improve quality and efficiency. Our complete complement of fabrication equipment enables us to manufacture electronic chassis and panels, HVAC systems, models, and fabricated materials that range from stainless steels and plastics to exotic materials. We specialize in fabricating all sorts of components to extremely close tolerances.

Welding, Brazing and Vacuum or Hydrogen Brazing, and Heat Treatment

We offer welding, brazing, and heat treatment services for a variety of processes and materials; our personnel are certified to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Welding Society (AWS) procedures. Our welding and materials engineer consults with customers on welding materials, design, and fabrication. Central Shops personnel are experts in such processes as high-production gas metal arc welding, high-quality gas tungsten arc welding, shielded metal arc welding, oxy-fuel welding and cutting, plasma cutting, stud welding, and torch brazing. Central Shops maintains two high-voltage, high-vacuum electron beam welders and a 1600°C vacuum/inert atmosphere brazing/thermal treatment oven. We can provide welding that satisfies he requirements of the ASME boiler and pressure vessel codes and piping codes, as well as the AWS structural welding code.