Plasma Cutter is Lubar Center's Newest Addition

Thanks to the generous support of the Hamilton Family Foundation, students at University School of Milwaukee have an advanced new tool at their disposal: a plasma cutter. Housed in the Lubar Center for Innovation and Exploration, the plasma cutter allows students to make precise cuts in metal up to a half-inch thick. This expands the type of materials available to students for use in a wide variety of projects, including USM’s FIRST Robotics Team 6823.

“Previously, anytime we needed a metal part we had to send it out to be machined for us, which was time consuming and expensive,” said David Anderson, innovation engineer. “Having the plasma cutter in house gives us so much more flexibility and provides another learning opportunity for the students.”

Although the footprint of the plasma cutter is relatively large, it was possible to reconfigure furniture within the Lubar Center to accommodate the new equipment. “From the beginning we designed the space to be flexible,” said Anderson. “We knew we wanted to be able to change up the space as needs arose, and this is one example of that.” 

Students will receive specialized training on how to use the machine safely while wearing the proper protective equipment. In addition, a trained adult will always be on hand to monitor the machine while it’s in use. 

“We’re really excited to have this equipment and we can’t wait for students to discover all the different ways it can be used,” said Anderson.