Vilhon Paja Workshop
The main space of the workshop utility is Vilho Väisälän paja (later Vilhon Paja) workshop. It is a spacious laboratory with 30 workstations, each featuring a desktop computer, a variable power supply, and a multimeter. These workstations are ideal for creating electronic test circuitry and for programming and testing microcontroller-based electronic boards. The workstations include software for circuitry design, programming, 3D modelling, networking, and graphics design.
Gaining Access
Vilho Väisälän paja workshop is open during the opening hours of the TUAS building at Maarintie 8. Typically this means between 7:45–20:00, on Fridays 7:45–18:00.
Even though the workshop is easy to access, it is recommended that you observe the exercise schedules of courses carefully prior to entering the space, as there may be a lot of students doing their course work in there. The primary access is always given to curriculum courses that have reserved the space.
3D Printing
Most of the 3D printers at the workshop are of the Ultimaker family. As we aim to enable students to use the printers in a self-organised manner, the ease-of-use and the ease-of-maintenance were the key selection criteria for choosing these printers. Most of the prints are done with the hard plastic material called PLA (a thermoplastic polyester). For more demanding 3D prints, the lab also features an SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) machine Lisa Pro, which can only be used when supervised by the workshop staff.
Circuit Board Milling
With the LPKF-S62 circuit board milling machine it is possible to create precise custom shaped electronic circuit boards. We use the machine in combination with the etching facility at the Circuit Shop. The process enables the creation of single- or double-sided boards with both through-hole (THT) and surface mounted (SMD) electronic components.
Laser Cutting
Laser cutting is a good alternative for 3D printing, as it is way faster in the creation of various component parts and box-shaped containers. Moreover, those parts are more precise in dimensions than the typical 3D prints at the workshop.
Physical Prototyping
The Vilhon Paja workshop also contains dedicated area for building physical prototypes with various materials, such as acrylic boards, foam boards, and extruded polystyrene (XPS). While the main focus is on the making of low-fidelity prototypes that foster learning, the workshop utility and the workshop ecosystem at Aalto also provides the needed resources for buildling high-fidelity prototypes of various scales.
Circuit Shop
The Circuit Shop is a place for the creation of custom electronic circuit boards. The room features six workstations, which are protected against electro-static discharge (ESD). The workstations also use various resources, such as precision soldering irons, surface mounted devices (SMD) soldering bed and oven, oscilloscopes, signal generators, microscopes, and board holding instruments. Hence it is possible to make and test sensitive custom circuitry.
Gaining Access
The circuit shop access is given with two conditions:
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You are Aalto student or staff
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You know what you are doing (and using) there
The access is implemented via the RFID cards/tags used to enter other spaces in Aalto too. Until we have a proper web service in place for you to prove your knowledge and skills, we shall require well-explained applications via the idm.aalto.fi system. Seach for Piiripaja and give a good explanation why you need the access.
Workshop Storage
To fulfil the needs of most projects, we have a pile of all kinds of utility components, such as DC motors, servos, gears, wheels, and so on. And what we do not have in the stock we may purchase for a study project that needs it.
Using our components for your projects
We have plenty of components that various curious makers at the School of Electrical Engineering at Aalto are interested in using in their projects. The components are primarily intended for the following uses, in the order priority:
- Aalto ELEC students doing an Aalto curriculum lab course, project or thesis
- Others
Researchers (even in ELEC) must consult to their research group supply prior to scavenging their desired components from our students' resource pool.