Staff in the Workshop are all mechanical engineers who have, over the years, acquired a great deal of specialist knowledge. They can build apparatus and work in materials as diverse as wood, plastics, stainless steel, copper and aluminium. A department or company can go to the Central Mechanical Workshop with an idea of what apparatus they will need for a particular project. The staff there will work with them, designing, developing and manufacturing the equipment to the specific requirements of the project. They design and build a wide range of sophisticated apparatus, including cryogenic and vacuum equipment.
Some projects take as little as half an hour to complete.
Other, very large projects, can take six months or more. In any 12 month period, the Workshop completes over 500 projects. An international assignment saw a member of Workshop staff in Switzerland. This was a collaborative project with representatives from several European academic establishments. Although the University funds the permanent members of staff, the Workshop is otherwise self-sufficient, raising income from work done for external customers, namely those who are not donor departments.