The SIW Head, Thanasi, is your first point of contact for the Scientific Instrumentation Workshops.

Maintenance/Service/Repairs: The SIM team is generally available to address walk-ins for very urgent service requests. Please ring the bell in front of 1D-407 to get our attention. We apologize if we’re not around right when you need us – we must be out helping someone else!

Instrumentation Development & Engineering: We’re happy to discuss questions if you come by – please just be aware that the team might not always be able to drop current activities to chat. The best place to start is to come to Thanasi in 404B.

The easiest way is to submit a ticket to the relevant team. Quick links are available on our Contact page.

Yes, we have longstanding experience integrating various hardware systems both mechanical and electronically. Please submit a ticket and we’ll reach out to discuss the details of your projects.

That’s what we’re here for! Come talk to Thanasi in person or reach out by email to set up an appointment.

1. You get in touch with us with a need or request by submitting a ticket.
2. We review the request and get in touch about next steps.
3. Typically we will set up a meeting to discuss your requirements in more detail.
4. We create an initial concept design to meet requirements and can provide a cost/time estimate.
5. We discuss the concept with you and iterate on the design until all open questions are addressed.
6. Once you approve the design, we will begin producing and testing the parts.
7. If necessary, we install, integrate, and calibrate the hardware at the experiment.

For instrumentation development projects, we may iterate with you between design, production, and testing in order to end up with a solution that works well and meets all your needs.

Absolutely. We provide cost estimates on request after collecting all the needed information. Please be aware, however, that new development projects may end up taking more effort or iterations than initially expected so we can only provide rough estimates in advance.

We aim to get everyone their parts when they need them. The best way to get something when you need it is to come to us as soon as you know you need it! 

Production times can vary drastically depending on request complexity, current workshop workload, and the need to engage external partners. For a current time estimate specific to your project, please reach out to us directly.

Please note: We process jobs on a first-come-first-served basis, while also taking into account project timelines and deadlines. Because of this, short-term deadlines may not always be possible to accommodate. For urgent parts that we cannot produce quickly in-house, we are happy to help find external solutions, coordinate external fabrication, or advise on alternate approaches.

In case of failure of commonly used equipment, the repair will be evaluated according to the following guidelines:

• type of the equipment
• year of construction
• ratio instrument cost / repair cost
• availability spare parts in the near future
• supplier warranty
• cost of the new equivalent Equipment

This evaluation will be done by the SIM department, in case of negative judgement the instrument will not be repaired.

If the Head of Unit intends to proceed with the repair regardless, SIM will organize the external repair and the cost will be charged to the Head of Unit’s budget.

The EMBL security services respond to alarms after normal hours and will contact your lab responsible person listed on the system. Please ensure that your contact lists are up to date, and consider coordinating with neighboring labs to cross-list some members who can help in case your lab’s contacts can’t be reached.

We have limited replacement instruments available on-site, please contact the SIM group to see how we can help.