2025EE31495 : Mudit Agarwal

Stepping into IIT Delhi was an exhilarating experience paired with boundless expectations and hopes for academic entertainment through exceptional opportunities. Besides the standard lectures and reading exercises which abound in our courses, MEP 1001 and Professor Sunil Jha gave us a stage for hands - on education with cutting-edge tools and latest technologies at the Central Manufacturing Facility. This wonderful laboratory houses not only tons of machines, instructors and students, but also, perhaps, their aspirations to build something from scratch, build something that matters and create objects with power to fascinate all around them! It is indeed our honor to be the first batch who is getting the privilege to construct and work in this facility with all the great intellectual individuals. I am here, among my peers, to pen down my excursion through this exciting course!

The CMF : A Whole New World!

Our first visit to the facility was marked by touring all the different laboratories harboring distinct and unique technologies. Our insightful and lively TA introduced us to such a myriad of machines and such advanced mechanisms that we didn't even know existed, thereby taking our eagerness to participate to cloud nine! His thorough explanations regarding the variety of procedures linked to manufacturing and how laborious some of the tasks are - requiring pin point precision, greatly contributed to the group morale and enthusiasm, making our labs - the correct way to start a Tuesday!

Towards our "Waiter Robot"

Our project was finalized with a blaze of anticipation and a feverish excitement! So much to explore, so much to learn and so much to choose from. The system that has been set in place for our training and construction, although not devoid of bugs, is an incredible one - fostering autonomy and prudence in making decisions. It is thrilling how we are placed in a professional, transactional environment and are simultaneously dealt with, with such care, calmness and concern. Our conversations with all our instructors, TAs and the Professor are so electrifying and motivational, sometimes unbelievably so! IITD never ceases from being "Too good to be true!"

All the information provided to us is so perfectly detailed and laid out there for us, it is astonishing and makes you ponder how many hours have been put into consolidating such intricacies. Our team had a considerably smooth sailing through getting an idea of the varied skills required, to make their choices and sum up their points! A lovely experience indeed!

CMF Learning Hub : Thorough and Convenient

My first CMF training session began with a blaze of glory before my personal laptop, where I was exposed to the wonderous world of the resources posted on this CMF website for open source usage! Every single skill has been explained so thoroughly and in considerably detail, which might not allow one to gain perfection and deep theoretical knowledge, but is appropriate to imbibe familiarity and practical hands-on experience!

The best part is, perhaps, that it can be accessed outside the lab timings - paving way to omnipresent education and a lovely way to utilize time efficiently and amusingly. Might I just add that the provision of earning and utilization of points is nothing short of phenomenal! It encapsulates the need of our discretion, prudence and wisdom in transactional scenarios. A true hats-off to whoever brainstormed this spectacular initiative.

For my orientation encounter, I had the opportunity to train in CAD Design, PCB Design, Circuit Simulation, Arduino Programming and ESP32 Programming. Besides my constant hunt for theoretical background and ultimate clarity, which seemingly is an impractical ask in most scenarios, I enjoyed my heart out exploring new and unique software, all with their own features and limitations.

Modelling like CRAZZYY

Computer Aided Design, for me, has been the most exciting and refreshing activity I have taken up. I can sit, tinkering in Fusion 360 for hours (which does affect my education in several cases, but eh...I do what I love and I love wat I do!). MEP 1001 and MEP 1000 put together give me such an open platform for me to design whatever I want and have total fun with it. I have had such high spirits creating so many 3D models, several of which have been portrayed in the picture. Sketching and extruding and revolving and getting to know so many new features Fusion has to offer....MIND BLOWN!

Connecting Wires...Stimulating Neurons

Being a student from EE3, and also being some of the few students who do not have an ELL course this semester can be alienating, but MEP 1001 jumped right up to make us feel at home with Electronics by integrating Circuit Simulation and PCB Design in our training!

I reckon this was my 1st introduction to a bread board, and that too a virtual one! Understanding its functioning and connections was quite the charming exposure. One, I am sure would greatly benefit me in the future. It is astonishing how miniscule circuit elements connect to produce something so magnificent and highly technological. Even more astounding is the TinkerCAD Software that runs simulations on these elements, mirroring the real world implications and producing very original results.

There lies the heart of all connections - THE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD. Perhaps, a marvelous and revolutionary suggestion that transformed how circuits are perceived and constructed today. Extremely compact, precise and neat - this creation is maybe the one that allowed our electronic devices to be so sleek and beautiful, and the way EasyEDA projects its true nature is a sight to behold and a talent worth possessing! Nevertheless, the talent, in reality, is all EasyEDA's...not the users!

Days and weeks, spent typing and scrolling and designing - fixed in one place, straining the eyes. That is the alleged or rather, expected tech lifestyle. What I figured out, IIT DELHI, and to be extremely on point...MEP 1001 TRANSCENDS ALL SUCH BOUNDARIES and seamlessly integrates LABORIOUS, NERVE RACKING, POWERFUL PHYSICAL TRAINING WORKSHOPS...whose hands on experience was given to me in the following weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Metallic Materials tailored to PERFECTION!

The incredible FABRICATION WORKSHOP!!

It was an enlightening experience, that highlighted just how mundane all metal objects/camps/joints we encounter ever second around us seem, but the work, the toil, the effort that goes into them is immense! We were given a standard, basic, unaltered piece of steel - coated with "MS" (Mill Scale), which is an oxide layer (similar to rust)

We filed and filed with all our might. We clamped the piece onto a vice and rubbed it with not only a file, but also our determination to expose the shiny metal underneath. Our task was to make a DC MOTOR MOUNTING BRAKCET out of this ordinary metal piece and we took its dimensions, made the markings, DRILLED HOLES IN ACCURATE PLACES....and shaped it into a perfectly beautiful bracket!

I HELD A HACKSAW IN MY HANDS...AND CUT A METAL PIECE...WITH ITS BLADE!! It truly made me wonder, we are so careful and comfortable in the umbrellas of our homes, we barely even hold a knife to cut a fruit cuz of "danger". HERE, I CUT A METAL PIECE WITH A BLADE...THAT IS THE BEAUTY OF EXPOSURE AND OPPORTUNITIES! Well of course, our safety was given top most priority, and to revise the rules, we all wore proper shoes and lab coats!

I cannot imagine how dirty our hands were...all blackened because of the File and so flecked with tiny metal pieces...I remember my peers who had a habit of touching their face, were adorned with a new skin colour...a lovely one at that!

NAILED IT!

Connecting Boards, at the WOOD WORKING WORKSHOP

Yet another mind blowing accomplishment! Constructing a massive table organizer from mere 6mm ply boards. A 1st hand experience really makes you appreciate the workers and carpenters who do this every day. Hammering EVERY SINGLE NAIL INTO THE BOARDS, to make joints, WAS A NIGHTMARE. The sheer force required - COLOSSAL! The nail breaks, it bends, it goes diagonal, it scrapes of the wood...and most of the times IT DOESN'T EVEN GO IT. As exciting this workshop was, IT WAS AS TOUGH AND DEMANDING! Nonetheless, I am going to forget the pain and the labour, what is going to stay with me, is the organizer and my training recorded in muscle memory.

May I also take a moment to highlight the perfection our workshops possess. A noteworthy instrument was the roller blade that cuts the wood. For our safety and precise linear cutting, our instructor had constructed a wooden board with a slit for the roller and handles in it. It not only made the process extremely simple, but also safe and accurate! The CMF never ceases to amaze!

Much more to go!!

Within the entangled web of booking training facilities (sometimes overbooking them, perhaps), learning new skills for the experience (and of course, points) and the abundance of discussions for scheduling and planning of our projects, our zeal stands tall as we await our next venture into the CMF!