Frey Hall lies in the center of campus and is the center of activity for the Messiah College Engineering department. Frey Hall houses state-of-the-art mechanical and electrical engineering laboratories, as well as a professional machine shop and in-house circuit prototyping equipment.
Thermal-Fluids Laboratory Frey 45
The Thermal Fluids laboratory fulfills many purposes. In addition to housing two hydraulic benches and a sub-sonic wind tunnel for fluid mechanics experiments, this lab also contains several student-designed heat transfer and thermodynamics demonstration units. Several Instrumentation and Measurement and Control Systems experiments are also conducted in this laboratory. Occasionally, students from the Introduction to Engineering class also use this facility for their projects. Thus, the Thermal-Fluids lab is an important part of the education of engineering students, from their first year until graduation
Wind tunnel in Frey 45
Materials Engineering Laboratory Frey 49
Materials laboratory resources are available to engineering students for projects throughout their tenure at Messiah College. Focused learning in the laboratory occurs in the sophomore or junior year when students take a course in Materials Engineering. Some laboratory exercises are prepared by the instructors to demonstrate and enhance understanding of principles discussed in lecture. An important part of this course, however, is a semester-long materials project. Teams of three students are hand-picked by the instructor, and the instructor serves as the project manager for each of these teams. A portion of the total grade is issued after each quarterly review. Progress is assessed and new quarterly goals are set in each review. Several projects have been running for multiple semesters, with a new team picking up each year where the previous work ended.
Materials testing facilities in Frey 49
Manufacturing Processes Laboratory Frey 51
The Manufacturing Processes Laboratory introduces mechanical engineering students to automated manufacturing techniques using computer-controlled LEGO parts in a virtual instrument programming environment. Four stations, each with its own IBM-compatible computer and interface are connected by a conveyor belt. Students design and build machines using LEGO Technic parts and then automate them using LabVIEW virtual instrument software. The interface allows the computer to operate electric motors, lights, and double- acting pneumatic cylinders, and to read information from touch, temperature, proximity (infrared), and rotation sensors. Student teams work together to integrate their creations into a four-step manufacturing process assigned by the instructor at the beginning of each term. This laboratory was designed and built by Messiah College faculty.
Manufacturing processes lab, Frey 51
Engineering Shop Frey 66
The Engineering Shop is a departmental and campus-wide support facility with metal- working, wood-working, and welding capabilities. Here, students are exposed to basic manufacturing processes and receive training in the proper and safe use of equipment. Most of this activity results from class assignments, but students are also encouraged to use the shop facilities in conjunction with extracurricular projects (such as the solar racing boat) and for constructing their senior projects. The machining area is equipped with a full complement of conventional machine tools as well as a 2 1/2 axis Bridgeport CNC mill, which has just recently been tied into the campus network CAD system. Arc, TIG, MIG, and gas welding are available in the welding area. A metal melt furnace, box heat treat furnace, sheet metal shears and brakes, and basic wood working tools round out the equipment inventory.
Shop equipment in Frey 66
Project Laboratory Frey 68
Frey 68, the Project Lab, provides an area for larger projects and is also used for instruction on occasion. The Introduction to Engineering course meets for lab sessions in this room in the Fall Semester. Appliances donated for "Mechanical Dissection" line the shelves waiting to be disassembled by enthusiastic freshmen engineering students. Later during the spring semester, this room is filled with seniors busily constructing projects requiring the extra space. The Genesis solar racing car was built in this room.
The Dokimoi Ergatai tricycle project, in progress in Frey 68
Engineering Resource Room Frey 252
Frey 252, the Engineering Resource Room, provides a variety of facilities for engineering students to use. Conveniently located near the 2nd floor engineering laboratories and faculty offices, Frey 252 houses a collection of engineering and science textbooks, engineering magazines, and other study resources. A corner table provides a quiet study space or a place to make up examinations. The resource room also provides five project work areas, each with its own computer workstation, which are available for long-term use by project teams.
Design project work in progress in Frey 252
Electronics Laboratory Frey 254
Sometimes referred to as the "Engineering Hang-out Room", Frey 254 is usually full of students working on engineering projects or laboratory assignments. This computer lab houses twelve computer workstations with the latest engineering design software, including SolidWorks, Multisim, Ultiboard, I-DEAS, and a microprocessor simulation package. The large work benches have built-in electrical outlets, making them ideal for circuit prototyping. Circuit prototyping equipment, including breadboards, multimeters, and oscilloscopes, is located in Frey 254 and next door in Frey 256. Several electrical lab sections meet in 254, but even when lab is not in session there is always something going on.
State-of-the-art computer workstations in Frey 254
PCB Fabrication Laboratory Frey 256
Frey 256 is a small laboratory in between Frey 254, the electronics lab, and Frey 266, the FACET lab. This lab has three doors for easy access from the surrounding labs. One door opens into Frey 254, one into Frey 266, and one into the technician's office, Frey 258. Therefore, Frey 256 is an ideal location for storing electronic equipment for student use, including four 4-megapixel digital cameras. This lab also has two cabinets full of capacitors, resistors, integrated circuits, and other electronic components that students can use to build custom circuits. Most importantly, Frey 256 houses the engineering department's in-house printed circuit board (PCB) prototyping facilities: a computer controlled automatic milling machine.
Electrical components for student use are available in Frey 256
Electronics and FACET Laboratory Frey 266
The FACET (Fault Assisted Circuits for Electronics Training) Lab is an advanced computer-assisted system using a hands-on approach to teach basic electronics concepts. Students work at individual stations, each equipped with an IBM-compatible computer running an interactive instructional software package, a modular component board, an integrated instrument package, a power supply, and a digital storage oscilloscope. The software leads the student through a series of modular experiments, broken into individual instructional segments. At the close of each exercise, a five- question review assessment is administered by the software. After each unit, the student is required to complete a ten-question multiple choice test, the results of which are transmitted via the network back to the class instructor. These test results can be retrieved easily by the instructor who can then monitor and review individual and class progress. The FACET system is manufactured by Lab- Volt.
FACET workstations in Frey 266
Physics Laboratories Frey 350, 352, 366
The Physics labs offer students equipment suitable for conducting basic experiments in motion, mechanics, calorimetry, waves, electric fields, circuits, motors and optics. A PC at each workbench facilitates data acquisition, analysis and report composition. For example, a photogate or Smart Pulley interfaced to the PC in conjunction with Vernier Software allows a student to measure the precise timing of an event. A student may then analyze and graph a data set to determine the slope and intercept of the best fit straight line using a spreadsheet program, such as Quattro Pro or Excel. Students primarily use Frey 352 for Physics I experiments. Frey 350 includes electrical test equipment appropriate for Physics II topics and Frey 366 provides extra space for wave experiments.
