Engineering Lab Equipment- High School
Engineering Education at the high school level introduces students to a wide variety of modern technologies as well as potential careers in the field of engineering. However, many of the skills learned and practiced in these programs will apply to careers not directly related to engineering. The following resources available from Learning Labs teach and reinforce the critical skills required for many of today's manufacturing careers. These are some of our most popular items.
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3D Printers (More 3D Printers)
No creative space would be complete without 3D printers. Learning Labs features a variety of 3D printers from various manufacturers.
Here are some suggestions:
Formlabs 3D printers employ a process called Stereolithography where they use a laser to solidify parts from specialized resins. The process yields remarkable results, and the variety of resins facilitates many applications.
Markforged Onyx Series 3D printers can reinforce parts with composite fiber while 3D printing them. The Mark Two (Onyx) achieves unparalleled strength, stiffness and durability in its printed parts. Markforged Onyx 3D Printers can print with media composed of Nylon, Carbon Fiber, Fiberglass, and Kevlar resulting in near-metal strength.
Snapmaker machines are unique because of their flexible 3-in-1 design. Not only can the Snapmaker be a 3D printer, it can also be converted into a laser engraver/cutter and a CNC router/carver.
Tiertime builds a line of great quality 3D printers at reasonable prices starting below $800. Entry-level Tiertime printers use PLA and ABS filament to print colorful designs.
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3D Scanners
3D scanners allow students to reverse engineer objects by measuring physical objects and turning them into 3D models that can be edited and 3D printed
With an astonishing range of capabilities, and features that do not exist in any other 3D scanner, Matter and Form THREE will be an essential part of your engineering workflow, 3D design process, or STEM program!​
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CNC Equipment - Machine Tools, Routers, Plasma Cutters, & WaterjetsIf you need to cut material with precision, you'll want CNC. These machines can cut a wide variety of media from soft materials like leather and cardboard to hard materials like metal and tile. Learning Labs represents several companies with CNC machines that will cut just about anything from leather to steel.
Forest CNC manufactures a variety of quality CNC Routers, Plasma Cutters, and Wood Lathes.
Intelitek has established itself as a leader in affordable CNC machines, with over 13,000 CNC machines installed in industry and education across the world. Intelitek can supply CNC Mills and Lathes, Routers, and Plasma Cutters. Intelitek is also known for integrating their CNC equipment with robots, conveyors, and various other technologies to create CIM and FMS systems.
Roland DG has been at the forefront of CNC mills and rapid prototyping, delivering tens of thousands milling machines for a wide variety of applications since 1986. Roland also supplies large format printers and cutters, direct to garment printers, and various other graphics resources.
Snapmaker machines feature a CNC "carving" (routing) configuration as well as 3D printing and Laser Engraving and cutting.
Tormach has a broad range of reasonably priced CNC mills and lathes available in benchtop and floor-standing configurations.
Wazer is a compact self-contained waterjet that can cut virtually anything using water and abrasives.
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Laser Cutters/Engravers
One of the most flexible and powerful tools in a creative space is a laser cutter and engraver. Young engineers can design parts or structural components, cut and engrave them from a variety of materials, and use the components to build large complex models and structures.
Note: the Snapmaker Machine (above) also features a Laser Engraver/Cutter attachment.
LaserPro laser engravers/cutters feature a powerful CO2 laser that can etch or cut non-metal and anodized material through sculpturing the material surface with heat. Simply create or edit a vector-based graphic using a program like Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator, then print. The type of graphic and the laser's power and speed settings control how deep the media is cut. It works great with wood, but other materials can also be cut.
Note: Anodized Metal can be etched, but not cut.
Here's a list of LaserPro Engravers with links for additional information:
E200 - Working Area: 20 x 13 inches - Z-Axis: 6 inches
C180II - Working Area: 20 x 13 inches - Z-Axis: 6 inches
Mercury III - Working Area: 25 x 18 inches - Z-Axis: 6.5 inches
Spirit LS - Working Area: 29 x 18 inches - Z-Axis: 6.5 inches
Spirit GLS - Working Area: 38 x 24 inches - Z-Axis: 7 inches
X380 - Working Area: 38 x 24 inches - Z-Axis: 6.5 inches
MG380Hybrid - Working Area: 38 x 24 inches - Z-Axis: 6.5 inches
S400 - Working Area: 40 x 24 inches - Z-Axis: 11 inches
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Flux makes the Beambox, a powerful laser cutter and engraver that lets you shape, cut, and engrave on materials like wood, leather, acrylic, and cardboard. Beambox meets all your expectations, and goes way beyond.
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Beambox offers a maximum work area of 15.7” x 14.7” and cuts up to 3/8" thick (varies by material). With their highly integrated software Beam Studio, your imagination is the only limit. Beam Studio is the highly integrated software compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux. Its intuitive user interface allows you to easily access all features of Beambox. Beam Studio enables multi-computer control and supports JPG, PNG, SVG, and DXF files.
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Vacuum Formers
Turbocharge your 3D printer by replicating your prints in seconds. Stop waiting hours for each print, and get to work as soon as you’ve found a form that’s perfect for the job. Go from idea to concept, to working prototype in just a day by creating, experimenting, and completing designs in a matter of minutes.
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Large Format and Specialized Printer/Cutters
Some printers are capable of full color printing and cutting of large banners, posters, retail packaging, and vinyl car wraps. Other printers can print directly to clothing or other textiles while others can print to virtually any media including metal and wood.
Roland DG is acclaimed as the pioneer of printer/cutters that integrate printing and cutting functions into a single unit, and is also recognized for incorporating the latest digital printing and color management technologies in its high-quality, high-definition printers.
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Coding/Programming
Over 50% of all jobs require some degree of coding skills, and research shows that there are 1 million unfilled IT jobs in the US. Coding career openings have increased by over 200,000 every year since 2010, so the demand is obvious. Learning Labs has several coding solutions, all of which involve hands on interaction.
Birdbrain Technologies cultivates creativity and computational thinking by providing flexible and inspiring products like these:
Finch is a programmable robot that brings computer science to life by providing students a hands-on representation of their code.
Hummingbird Robotics Kits are creative robotics tools which allow students to design, build, and program a personally meaningful robot out of any materials, with any device, in multiple programming languages.
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CoderZ™ is an innovative, cloud based learning environment to teach coding using the fascinating world of virtual robots. CoderZ™ learning programs are engaging for students and also highly affordable for educators even for very large scale deployments.
NeuroMaker grew out of the Harvard Innovation Lab. They develop cognitive training technology products and apply their expertise in machine learning, design, and neuroscience to create innovative cognitive-based applications.
Here's what they have to offer:
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NeuroMaker Robotic Hand
BCI (Brain Computer Interface)
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pi-top provides educators with all the tools needed to make teaching and learning standards-based Computer Science easy and engaging. Powered by a unique Raspberry Pi programmable ecosystem, pi-top blends step-by-step coding, robotics, and engineering lessons with hands-on hardware applications.Here are some links to their products:
pi-top [4] - A portable brain that can be clipped from project to project without needing to rebuild.
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Robotics
Learning Labs has supplied hundreds of robots to secondary Engineering and Technology Education programs over the last four decades. Many are stand-alone robots while others are integrated into Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) and Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS). Today we offer a variety of robotic devices such as pick and place robots, mobile robots, even programmable flying robots (drones). Here are some of the robotic devices we can supply:
Intelitek is widely known for supplying thousands of robots to career, technical, and engineering education programs. Today they offer a variety of robots with a broad range of capabilities.
Niryo's Ned2 cobot has 6 axes for the best versatility. Reproduce any movement required in the most complex industry 4.0 processes. Ned2 is a part of a full ecosystem thanks to its conveyor belt which allows you to prototype production lines. It can be controlled autonomously or through the robot. Composed of an infra-red module, a slope, 6 manipulable objects, an end stopper, a control box and 4 markers, allowing you to recreate a workspace and interact with the Vision Set.
Open-Source Solutions' x-series cobot is revolutionizing robotics, making industrial-level automation more accessible for the classroom and small/medium businesses. ​The x-series robot features include ​6 degrees of freedom, can handle 1-11 pounds of payload and is constructed from carbon fiber and aluminum.
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Drones/Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
In recent years, drones/UAVs have evolved from expensive toys to critical tools for many professional applications such as entertainment, agriculture, real estate, search and rescue, civil engineering, surveying, law enforcement, and more.
DJI is the world leader in drone technology with about 70% of the market share worldwide.
STEMPilot's SAFEDrone is a classroom protocol for training students to operate drones indoors, assuring proper training to mitigate risk. Students will apply classroom math, science and engineering by understanding "How does a drone fly."​
