Southwestern Pennsylvania is uniquely positioned to be a leader in metals additive manufacturing (AM) because of the knowledge, research, and decades of experience in this area. Additive manufacturing is a fast-moving technology, and the region must take advantage of the economic growth that can come from being a leader in this field. With more than 35 faculty members from across disciplines at Carnegie Mellon, the Next Manufacturing Center is keeping Southwestern Pennsylvania at the forefront of this field by researching the interrelated technical, cost, and design issues of advanced manufacturing. Working closely with regional industry leaders and national organizations, the center is working to enable wide-spread adoption of advanced manufacturing technology by making the process less expensive and more easily scalable for production.
The AIM Higher Consortium is a wide-ranging program funded by the Department of Defense–Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC). Their goal is to strengthen the defense supply chain in the Southwestern Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia regions. Their programs focus on the adoption of technologies including artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, and additive manufacturing. Read more about the Aim Higher Defense Manufacturing Summit hosted by CMU.
National Manufacturing Day is an annual event held on the first Friday in October. Companies and educational institutions around the nation hold events that show students, parents, teachers, and community leaders the many manufacturing career opportunities that are available. As manufacturers seek to fill four million high-skill, high-tech, and high-paying jobs over the next decade, the Next Manufacturing Center and Carnegie Mellon University are proud to support their efforts by hosting an annual Manufacturing Day event at Mill 19. Read about the 2022 Manufacturing Day at Mill 19.
Economic development partners
The Next Manufacturing Center has built strong partnerships with a number of non-profit and economic development organizations focused on working with small and mid-size manufacturers in Pennsylvania:
- ASM Pittsburgh Chapter
- Catalyst Connection
- America Makes and NCDMM
- SAE International
- TMS
- Women in 3D Printing Pittsburgh Chapter
Regional collaborations
Southwestern PA is home to many of the nation’s metals producers, powder suppliers, manufacturers, and software developers, including: