2022

2021


November


MFI research on robotics mentioned
ATI Industrial Automation

Research by MFI’s Changliu Liu on using robots for weld-bead removal was featured on ATI Industrial Automation’s website. The team designed a fully-automated, active compliance system that was able to successfully locate, measure, and remove the weld bead from the tube’s interior and verify process completion. Material removal operations are quintessential to a variety of industries and range from very light finishing to heavy gate removal.


Wolf gives an introduction to 3D printing talk at Carnegie Science Center

Sandra DeVincent Wolf, executive director of the Next Manufacturing Center and Manufacturing Futures Institute, conducted a program on metal additive manufacturing at the Carnegie Science Center on November 1, 2021. Metal additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, is of great interest to nearly all industries that work with metals. The introduction to AM covered how it works and what it can do. Examples of actual metal 3D printed parts that are in use were shared, along with a look at the research that is driving the future of this technology.

August


Wolf selected for convergent manufacturing committee
The National Academies of Engineering, Science, and Mathematics

MFI/Next Manufacturing Sandra DeVincent Wolf has been selected to serve on the National Academies Committee on Convergent Manufacturing. The committee will put together a publicly-accessible workshop, titled “Convergent Manufacturing Platform - A Future of Additive, Subtractive, and Transformative Manufacturing: A Workshop.” It will look into issues associated with research and development leading to convergent manufacturing capability here in the United States.


June


Carnegie Mellon awarded $150 million grant
The Wall Street Journal

Carnegie Mellon University was featured in The Wall Street Journal after being awarded a $150 million grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. Half of the funding with be used in building the Robotics Innovation Center, with construction expected to be complete by the 2025-2026 school year, as well as making the current Manufacturing Futures Initiative a permanent institute at the university. The other half will be dedicated toward constructing a new science building, located on the Oakland campus. This story was also featured in: Forbes, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, WESA, NEXT Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Business Times, Trib Live, and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.