Swanson Center for Product Innovation
J. Andrew Holmes
Phone: 412-624-8878
Email: jholmes@pitt.edu
The John A. Swanson Center for Product Innovation (SCPI) is housed within the SSOE and has been assisting industry and education since 1999. SCPI was designed to give industry and entrepreneurs access to Pitt's state-of-the-art product development technology through the technical services of its talented students, world-class faculty and dedicated technical staff members. Clients connect with a high quality, one-stop job shop that provides efficient turnaround for product analysis and design, process design and development, rapid prototyping and reverse engineering, small-lot product manufacturing, and additive manufacturing. SCPI includes four facilities the W.M. Keck Rapid Prototyping and Reverse Engineering Laboratory, the Kresge Rapid Manufacturing Laboratory, and the SSOE Machine and Electronics Shops all under the same SSOE-level administration to ensure close coordination, integrated operations and sharing of resources These facilities, described further below, house both traditional equipment as well as the latest in product development technologies, and will be made available as integral components of the Consortium.
The W.M. Keck Rapid Prototyping and Reverse Engineering Laboratory allows for the development and production of functional prototypes through the utilization of leading-edge rapid prototyping and reverse engineering technologies. This state-of-the-art laboratory helps faculty and students gain hands-on access to leading-edge rapid prototyping, automated machining and reverse engineering technologies. Rapid prototyping describes the technology that produces models or prototype parts directly from 3D computer-aided design model data. The rapid prototyping systems in the W.M. Keck laboratory create prototypes from a variety of polymer-plastic materials layer by layer using thin, horizontal cross sections directly from a computer-generated model. When the computer-generated model is created from an existing part, the surface geometry is accurately reproduced in 3D through a computer-aided design system. This allows SCPI to quickly generate new prototypes or take ' existing prototype designs and change the specifications to create new prototypes with varying characteristics, significantly reducing the time needed for new and redesigned products to reach the market. Technology in this facility includes a 3D Systems (VIPER) Stereolithography (SLA) System, a Stratasys Dimension 1200EX Fused Deposition Modeler (FDM), a BF-B 3000 FDM, a Zcorp 310 3D Printer, a FARO Platinum Arm 3D Laser Scanner, a Minolta VIVID 910 Laser Camera Scanner, a Brown & Sharpe (Gage 2000) Coordinate Measurement Touch Probe, a Renishaw Cyclone Contact Scanner and a Master View Optical Gauging Machine.
The Kresge Rapid Manufacturing Laboratory completes the product development cycle within SCPI through the strength of today's manufacturing technology. This facility helps clients meet turnaround deadlines by rapidly fabricating small batches of new products using its state-of-the-art technology. To ensure quality control, two test cells within the lab enable the products to be put through the rigorous testing required for product design and improvement. Technology in this facility includes a Kern HSE 25 Laser Cutting Table, a Haas TM1-P 4 Axis CNC Machining Center, a Haas TL-1 CNC Lathe, a Hardinge Precision Toolroom Lathe, an MCP Vacuum Casting System, and a Morgan 15 Ton Injection Molding Machine.
The SSOE Machine Shop provides full-service conventional and CAD/CAM machining, precision grinding, cutting, shearing, welding, and CNC lathing and milling for a wide variety of materials. This facility prepares prototypes and custom-designed parts for every engineering discipline in the SSOE as well as other entities within the University including the School of Medicine, the School of Dental Medicine, and the Department of Physics.
The SSOE Electronics Shop provides a wide variety of electronics expertise to the SSOE including repair, laboratory support, and prototyping encompassing design, wiring, motors, sensors, computer A-D and D-A interfacing, and data acquisition and control using LabView and other software.