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Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s machine shops turn researchers’ needs into custom instruments, components, and prototypes. Technicians combine large-scale machining, 3D printing, nanoscale fabrication, and precision assembly—work that makes experiments possible before a scientific result can be measured.
What happens inside Berkeley Lab’s machine shops?
The work spans several scales and processes. A research team may need a one-off component for an experiment, a holder that protects an exceptionally thin chip, or precisely assembled hardware for a synchrotron. Berkeley Lab’s engineering and fabrication infrastructure includes a Mechanical Fabrication shop, an Assembly Shop, a Microsystems Laboratory, and the Molecular Foundry.
That range matters because scientific hardware is rarely an off-the-shelf fit. Technicians interpret experimental requirements, choose a suitable fabrication method, and build or adapt the equipment researchers need. The lab’s Assembly Shop, for example, makes and inspects magnet modules for the Advanced Light Source (ALS), a synchrotron x-ray source. Make: reported that the ALS upgrade’s stated goal was x-ray beams 100 times brighter (2025).
How do 3D printing, machining, and microfabrication support research?
Each process solves a different kind of engineering problem. Additive manufacturing builds an object by adding material; machining removes material to shape a part; microfabrication and lithography enable work at much smaller scales; assembly brings finished components together and checks them.
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- Additive manufacturing: Willy Evans leads the Engineering Division’s Additive Manufacturing Lab, where industrial 3D printers and lasers are used to make scientific hardware.
- Machining and welding: The Molecular Foundry’s machine shop supports researchers who need specialized components and instrumentation.
- Nanoscale fabrication: The Foundry uses focused-ion-beam lithography, which Make: describes as combining functions of an extremely small 3D printer and CNC mill.
- Precision assembly: The Assembly Shop makes and inspects ALS magnet modules, linking fabrication work to the operation of a large research facility.
These approaches are complementary rather than interchangeable: a custom printed prototype, a machined part, a nanoscale feature, and an inspected magnet module call for different equipment and expertise.
Who builds the custom instruments used in scientific research?
Willy Evans: additive manufacturing and broad mechanical work
Evans runs the Additive Manufacturing Lab and describes the role as broader than any single machine or process. “The job description was extremely broad and ranged from everything like machining to cryo,” said Evans. His experience includes aerospace CNC operation, repairing cars and motorcycles, and building custom printers—background that illustrates how practical mechanical skills can transfer into scientific fabrication.
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Arian Gashi: machining in the Molecular Foundry
Gashi is a senior scientific engineering associate who runs the Molecular Foundry machine shop. For one project, he machined a custom holder for silicon-nitride chips 100 nanometers thick, according to Make: (2025). His path into technical work began with music studies; machining and welding became central skills in his laboratory career.
The Foundry’s working model is designed to connect technical expertise with experiments. “Our approach is to have as few barriers between the experimentalist and the people building the instrumentation” as possible, said Gashi. That direct collaboration helps builders understand what the experiment requires instead of treating fabrication as a disconnected service.
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How do students get introduced to science and making?
Berkeley Lab’s K–12 STEM Education Program was developed during the 2020 shelter-in-place period. Offerings described by Make: include After School Science Hour, middle-school programs, a Reverse Science Fair, the free bilingual Science en Acción camp, the Berkeley Lab Director’s Apprenticeship Program, and QCaMP (Quantum, Computing, Mathematics & Physics). Some programs provide stipends; program availability, eligibility, and current terms can change, so families should check the lab’s official program pages before applying.
Faith Dukes, the K–12 program director, framed the value of exploration this way: “I want students to have the opportunity to say, ‘I like this area of science’ or ‘actually, I don’t like this,’” said Dukes. Hands-on exposure can help students discover what interests them, including technical work that connects design, tools, and scientific questions.
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Why technicians are part of scientific discovery
Research depends on more than ideas and experiments: it also depends on hardware that fits the experiment precisely. Berkeley Lab’s shops bring together technicians, specialized equipment, and close collaboration with scientists. Make: stated that the lab had 16 Nobel Prizes in its 2025 feature; that figure is the publication’s attribution and year, not a measure of any one shop’s output.
The larger lesson is practical: discoveries rely on people who can translate a scientific need into a working object, whether that means a printed prototype, a machined holder, a nanoscale structure, or a carefully inspected magnet module.
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Sources and further reading
- Kevin Toyama, “Making Science: Inside Lawrence Berkeley National Lab,” Make:, May 9, 2025.
- Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
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