Serving Western Pennsylvania since 1994
Mission
The Manufacturing Assistance Center (MAC)'s mission is to assist regional manufacturers and entrepreneurs in gaining a competitive advantage in the global economy via the use of advanced manufacturing technology.
An initiative of the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Industrial Engineering, the MAC is a technology transfer center with a highly skilled staff and a working, state-of-the-art factory.
The MAC offers Southwestern Pennsylvania Manufacturers shared access to and hands-on training on a number of advanced machine tools and computer aided manufacturing software.
Fifteen Years of Excellence
The MAC has fulfilled it's mission
since 1994 by completing numerous technical assistance projects involving new product development, testing of material and machine processes, NC programming, cellular manufacturing, automation simulation, business start up and general technical assistance. The MAC offer substantial hands on training across a wide variety of manufacturing disciplines.
The MAC has contributed to the education of engineering students via graduate research assistantships, graduate and undergraduate courses, cooperative jobs, and part-time employment. A number of publications and PhD research has resulted from the work done at the center that includes such topics as technology management, cellular manufacturing, automated material handling, innovative teaching of technology, and process planning. The MAC has also been used for tool and material testing, predominantly with tungsten carbide