# Machine Shop Core

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2021 · $159,159

## Abstract

UAB Center Core for Vision Science - Machine Shop Core
Project Summary/Abstract
The Machine Shop remains an essential Core servicing the researchers in Vision Science at UAB. It enables
custom components to be designed and built to accommodate uncommon species (e.g. tree shrew, macaque)
for which commercial equipment is unavailable or unsuitable for the novel science being pursued. The Core
also enables new instruments to be built or commercially incompatible components to be melded for new
purposes. Whenever it is practical to do so, all new device and component designs are now initiated with
digital drawings in AutoCAD, which seamlessly operates with two new major pieces of equipment: a computer-
numerically-controlled (CNC) milling machine and a 3-D printer for high-end materials. Our move to a digital
platform streamlines the manufacturing process by minimizing trial-and-error in new devices and improves
precision and repeatability. The digital approach also helps to educate trainees on the feasibility and
practicality of their designs, as they can learn to visualize the final product without having to make it first. Our
machinist is now experienced with on-going scientific projects by Core users, the wide range of new materials
available (biocompatible alloys and plastics), and he routinely offers design and materials recommendations
that improve and expedite project outcomes. The design process is further facilitated by the machinist’s
recently acquired Associate degree in computer-aided drafting. Currently the Machine Shop Core is used
extensively or moderately by 14 of the 25 Core Grant participants.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10272812
- **Project number:** 2P30EY003039-41
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** Paul Douglas Gamlin
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $159,159
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 1997-08-01 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10272812

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10272812, Machine Shop Core (2P30EY003039-41). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10272812. Licensed CC0.

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