Graduate and undergraduate students use the school’s fabrication labs in support of studio and course work assignments, as well as for independent projects. The labs are fully equipped for building models, fabricating furniture, sculpting, and exploring building systems. Students work with a wide variety of materials, including wood and wood products, plastics, ferrous and nonferrous metals, concrete and other composite materials. Beyond the normal fabrication equipment and tools usually found in wood and metal shops, the Fabrication Lab also provides access to advanced digital fabrication equipment which includes both a high-power metal-cutting laser and a high-power laser cutter for woods and plastics, a water jet, multiple 3-axis CNC mills, a 4-axis CNC mill, a jewelry-grade wax 3d printer, a 5-axis robotic 3d printer, and seven robots in the robotics lab.

All incoming students take the Summer Shops Techniques course during the week before classes begin. This intensive course teaches students how to work safely and efficiently in the shop while exposing them to a wide range of tools and procedures. During the year, staff is available to assist students with their projects. Individual instruction is always available from the staff and students with shop experience may apply to be fabrication shop monitors.

Each semester, YSoA hires shop monitors to operate the shop on nights and weekends. We invite interested candidates to submit their applications, detailing any relevant experience. Applications can be returned either via email or by delivering a physical copy to the shop.

Please note that all new shop monitors are required to complete both monitor training and First Aid/CPR/AED certification. These training sessions are typically scheduled on a weekend and require a full workday to complete but remain valid for two years.

For additional information and the application form, see Lab Documents.