Spring 2018: Modern Manufacturing in Steeltown

Modern Manufacturing in Steeltown

12 units

This course is open to design-oriented students who are currently upper level undergraduates and graduate students. We assume students have prior or concurrent woodshop or metalshop training and basic exposure to materials, manufacturing, and design (for example through MechE Design 1 or an introductory Industrial Design course).

The goal of this course is to provide a professional exposure to materials and modern manufacturing practices. Through site visits to local manufacturers and in-class activities and competitions, this class will cover common materials and their salient properties, forming methods with a focus on injection modeling, assembly lines, packaging, partnering with manufacturers, and sustainability.

Local site visits will also highlight the range of manufacturing happening around Pittsburgh from medical to industrial to boutique. Projects will allow students to explore materiality for product design as well as product development targeted at specific companies with regional capabilities and constraints.