2025TT11754 : Agastya Agarwal

Lab - 1 Introduction

Tuesday, 5th August 2025 was the day our group attended our first MEP1001 (Manufacturing for Product Innovation) lab. Many of us, myself included, found ourselves caught in a Pandora’s box of emotions — excitement, curiosity, nervousness, and confusion all emotions swirling together. MEP1001 isn’t just a course, it’s a lifestyle — one that includes a permanent smell of metal dust.

Before I dive into my first day at the lab, I want to share a thought about this intriguing and fascinating course. It had always been my childhood dream to work with machines and design new inventions using the latest technology. From drawing inspiration from fictional characters like Iron Man to actually working in such an extraordinary lab — the experience was truly marvellous (pun intended) . After being introduced to this course, it felt as if my inner JEE aspirant had finally been rewarded.

We were asked to arrive at ACW (Academic Complex West), to discuss project ideas, and have a tour of some of the many labs the complex had. Though, the aspiring robotics enthusiast inside me, was interested in making big and complex robots that can do lots and lots of tasks. Reality, however, had a smaller but smarter plan — the smart dustbin. It could be a project, that has a lot of scope for innovation, and is something which can help cleaning the Earth, one toss at a time. This project has the potential to teach me what engineering actually means, and could be a great initiative in cleaning Earth.

Tour of the Lab

A fascinated yet nervous me stood in the large complex, surrounded by so many machines that we would be using vigorously over the next couple of months. There were labs for practically every skill imaginable. Seeing the powerful workstations, the layer-loving 3D printer, and smelling the oddly comforting scent of sawdust in the woodworking shop was an unforgettable experience.

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