Advanced manufacturing

We are defining the future of advanced manufacturing research by fabricating technologies for implantable medical devices, automotive racing applications using metal additive manufacturing, and lithographic processes for M/NEMS sensors.

Advanced manufacturing

Additive manufacturing

Our leadership in additive manufacturing (AM) research includes analysis, modeling, experimentation, qualification, and device development and characterization.

Expertise extends to process mapping, geometric and mechanical characterization, optimized assembly, control systems, role of powder properties in metal AM, and finishing processes and systems for AM fabricated parts.

Researchers are using new techniques to 3D print ceramics, biodegradable actuators, lithium-ion battery electrodes, and devices for aerospace and biomedical industries.

Faculty involved: Amir Barati Farimani, Jack Beuth, Reeja Jayan, Burak Kara, Sneha Prabha Narra, Burak Ozdoganlar, Rahul Panat, Kenji Shimada, Victoria Webster-Wood, Trevor Jones, Ophelia Bolmin

Micro/nano-manufacturing

Researchers investigate a diverse range of advanced manufacturing processes and associated equipment to create micro- and nano-scale components and devices.

Expertise includes micromachining and micromilling, nano-molding of polymers, soft-lithography, semiconductor and data storage manufacturing, and micro-scale finishing processes.

Exciting new approaches include DNA origami (bottom up manufacturing) to enable nanomanufacturing and nanomechanics of multiprotein systems as well as exploring microstructures for biomimetic sensors and actuators (top down manufacturing).

Developing new materials for thermal management—like polymer nanofibers and supersolder—will transform thermal management in electronic devices.

Faculty involved: Amir Barati Farimani, Burak Ozdoganlar, Rahul Panat, Sheng Shen, Rebecca Taylor, Shawn Litster, Ophelia Bolmin

Medical device manufacturing

Our researchers make groundbreaking developments in manufacturing processes for bioinert and dissolvable materials.

Areas include: fabricating implantable medical devices like neural probes, brain-machine interfaces, and transdermal microneedles; manufacturing surgical training equipment; fabricating skin tissue scaffolds and robotic skin; manufacturing electronic tattoos for health monitoring; and developing biological polymers, tissues, and proteins for organic robots.

Faculty involved: Carmel Majidi, Burak Ozdoganlar, Rahul Panat, Rebecca Taylor, Victoria Webster-Wood, Ophelia Bolmin, Trevor Jones, Inseung Kang

Manufacturing Futures Institute

The faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering are exploring collaborations across disciplines through Carnegie Mellon University's Manufacturing Futures Institute (MFI). This initiative is leading the digital transformation of manufacturing to accelerate innovation for economic prosperity.

At Mill 19, a more than 300,000 sqft discovery workspace, our innovators partner with industry pioneers to apply digital innovation, advanced manufacturing technology and human intelligence to the production of the future.

People

Learn who in Mechanical Engineering is working in advanced manufacturing.

Related News

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Shrinkage porosity, a common defect in metal castings, has been identified in laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing.

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Researchers use AI and high-speed in-situ imaging to optimize process parameters for 3D printing metal alloys.

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Scaling in-situ process monitoring to qualify AM parts Opens in new window

Mechanical Engineering alumnus Luke Scime uses artificial intelligence in the development of Peregrine, a process monitoring software stack to qualify additive manufactured parts at the U.S. national laboratories.

3D micro-ice printing for medical applications Opens in new window

Carnegie Mellon researchers receive funding from the Manufacturing Futures Institute to continue work on 3D micro-ice printing for medical applications.

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Generating better mutli-lattice transitions for manufacturing

How can engineers produce smooth transitions between lattice cells in complex structures? Combining additive manufacturing and machine learning to look at latent space endpoints may help.

Accelerating adoption of additive manufacturing Opens in new window

Engineering alumnus Brian Fisher embodies the vision for additive manufacturing his former professor Jack Beuth helped him to see.

Virtual reality partners become real world neighbors Opens in new window

In July, the YKK AP Technologies Lab opened at Mill 19. Their focus on the development of a virtual factory is well aligned with the digital twin work underway at the Manufacturing Futures Institute.

Additive manufacturing in focus Opens in new window

Researchers introduce an experimental method to measure melt pool temperature using a single commercial color camera during additive manufacturing.

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Controlling distortion Opens in new window

By identifying its root cause, Carnegie Mellon engineers have found a way to control distortion in additive manufacturing.

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A sweet way to teach kids about manufacturing Opens in new window

Sneha Prabha Narra uses hands-on activities to introduce engineering and additive manufacturing concepts to local grade school students.

Driving autonomy into the metaverse Opens in new window

Students in Ding Zhao’s lab were awarded the 2022 Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship for their proposal to generate diverse safety-critical autonomous vehicle scenarios using digital twins.

Microneedles unlock curcumin’s therapeutic potential Opens in new window

Researchers engineer a hybrid system that stabilizes curcumin to target skin diseases.

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Nanoprinting electrodes for customized treatments of disease Opens in new window

Researchers pioneer the CMU Array—a customizable, 3D nano-printed, ultra-high-density microelectrode array platform for next-generation brain-computer interfaces to treat neurological disorders.

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Hydrogels pave way for future of soft robotics Opens in new window

Wenhuan Sun, Victoria Webster-Wood, and Adam Feinberg have created an open-source, commercially available fiber extruder to benefit future research with hydrogels and soft robotics.

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Scaling up the production of liquid metal circuits Opens in new window

At Carnegie Mellon, mechanical engineering researchers have developed a new scalable and reproducible manufacturing technique that could accelerate the mainstream adoption and commercialization of soft and stretchable electronics.

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3D printing ice Opens in new window

3D printed ice isn’t as magical as in the movie Frozen, but it has wonderful potential for biomedical engineering and advanced manufacturing.

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A cooler side to soft robotics Opens in new window

Researchers combined liquid crystal elastomers with a thermoelectric device to develop a stretchable transducer for soft robotics.

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Microscopic engineering, macroscopic value

From an apprenticeship in nanofabrication to a career with Intel, master's alumnus Alexander Kwakye focuses on process engineering and its emphasis on quality over quantity.

Robots that can learn to safely navigate warehouses Opens in new window

Advances in chips, sensors, and AI algorithms are enabling robots to continuously learn how to plan routes, avoid obstructions, and operate safely in large dynamic warehouse environments.

3D printing giant nanotech models Opens in new window

Caleigh Goodwin-Schoen and Rebecca Taylor are designing more affordable ways to print colorful 3D models of biological nanostructures, like proteins and DNA.

Breaking barriers in medicine Opens in new window

A team of mechanical engineering researchers has used additive manufacturing and nanotechnology to detect increasingly tiny levels of biomarkers.

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Metal 3D printing across scales

New faculty member Sneha Prabha Narra is interested in utilizing recent advances in in-situ monitoring, process modeling, and fundamentals of welding to advance the use of wire arc additive manufacturing for new applications and materials.

Tuning synthetic collagen threads for biohybrid robots Opens in new window

Researchers in Victoria Webster-Wood’s Biohybrid and Organic Robotics Group are using techniques from tissue engineering to refine tendon-like collagen threads for a new generation of robots.

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Designing for a brighter future

New MechE faculty member and alumnus Christopher McComb wants to develop successful human-machine teams, create a student-centered learning environment, and give designers computational superpowers.

Pushing through nanopores: Genetic sequencing with MXene Opens in new window

MXene—a single layer, two-dimensional nanomaterial—shows potential for solid-state, nanopore-based DNA sequencing. This could lead to efficient, rapid diagnostics and personalized medicine.

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Tantalizing tantalum actuators and sensors Opens in new window

Can this refractory metal be an efficient substitute material in microelectromechanical system (MEMS) thermal actuators?

Bringing students into the next industrial revolution Opens in new window

Students taking a new course combine rapidly expanding technologies to create innovative solutions for real societal problems.

One thing leads to another Opens in new window

Novel methods for making ceramics could abate environmental problems.

Using DNA for tiny tech Opens in new window

Tito Babatunde and her advisors Rebecca Taylor and Jon Cagan are combining their expertise to optimize designs for DNA origami nanostructures.

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Rethinking the rink for hockey safety Opens in new window

Whether 50 pounds or 200, hockey players come in all sizes, and their safety matters. This unique collaboration invites Carnegie Mellon students to explore new ways to make hockey safer.

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Virtually awarded

MechE graduate students earned accolades at the department’s annual research symposium poster sessions. This year's events were virtual through Gather Town, an interactive, video-chat world.

Scalable manufacturing for novel, painless vaccine delivery

Collaborators are developing a novel approach to inoculation that addresses both immunological effectiveness and manufacturing efficiency.

Improving a vaccine delivery system for COVID and beyond Opens in new window

To impact COVID-19 vaccination in the developing world, collaborators develop and test a new hybrid microneedle array platform capable of delivering vaccines directly into the skin.

Making mechanical skin Opens in new window

These 3D printed circuits are self-healing, re-writable, and energy-harvesting, thanks to liquid metal.

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Hot Stuff: Unusual thermal diode rectifies heat in both directions Opens in new window

Dual-mode thermal rectification could be a game changer for a range of industrial and medical applications.

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Imagine a 10-second COVID-19 antibody test—we’re on our way Opens in new window

Carnegie Mellon University researchers reveal fastest known COVID-19 antibody test with high sensitivity due to a unique, 3D printing technology and an electrochemical reaction.

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Microwaving new materials Opens in new window

Reeja Jayan has made a breakthrough in our understanding of how microwaves affect materials chemistry, laying the groundwork for tailor-made ceramic materials with new electronic, thermal, and mechanical properties.

At home with research

Despite the coronavirus shutdown, researchers and students were creative about continuing their work and joining the fight against COVID-19.

Molding masks against coronavirus Opens in new window

Kenji Shimada and Erica Martelly team up for the America Makes Fit to Face Challenge, creating one of the top two designs in the competition.

Unlocking PNA’s superpowers Opens in new window

Rebecca Taylor and her research team have developed a method for self-assembling nanostructures with gamma-modified peptide nucleic acid, a synthetic mimic of DNA.

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Making innovation count

Undergraduate research support empowers Miguel Martinez to engineer surgical training solutions.

An alternative to the syringe Opens in new window

Carnegie Mellon University will provide microneedle drug delivery patches to support COVID-19 vaccination and treatment research.

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Engineering faculty win Carnegie Science Awards Opens in new window

Carmel Majidi and Ryan Sullivan have won Carnegie Science Awards from the Carnegie Science Center for their incredible contributions to science.

Producing hydrogen peroxide when, and where, it’s needed Opens in new window

Does a material exist that can be used to selectively, reliably, and efficiently form hydrogen peroxide whenever and wherever it’s needed?

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3D printing nanoparticle neural probes Opens in new window

Rahul Panat has received a R01 grant from the NIH to use a low-cost, rapid additive manufacturing method to create a new class of high-density neural probes to record neurological data.

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Bridging the physical and digital worlds with human-machine learning

New MechE faculty member Conrad Tucker sees machines as tools that can help to enhance human capabilities.

Polymers, printing, and pathways

A novel approach to 3D printing using a support bath can greatly expand the types of polymers that can be printed, enable chemical reactions of the printed materials to gain novel material properties, and increase the mechanical strength and reduce the print time of mechanical parts through design optimization.

NASA invests in 3D printing for aviation Opens in new window

CMU has been selected by NASA to lead a research team dedicated to examining new ways to build and power aircraft of the future, through NASA’s University Leadership Initiative.

Lightening the load Opens in new window

Kate Whitefoot and Burak Kara are developing methods allowing manufacturers to redesign multiple parts into one continuous part using 3-D printing.

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Exploring high-entropy alloys

Collaborators De Boer, Poczos, and Webler receive a Manufacturing Futures Initiative (MFI) award to explore high-entropy alloys, a new class of metal alloy.

Electronic tattoos for wearable computing Opens in new window

Cross-Atlantic collaborators have developed a simple, efficient method to make robust, highly flexible, tattoo-like circuits for use in wearable computing.

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Zhang and Yao earn MFI award for 4D printing

Jessica Zhang and Lining Yao earn a Manufacturing Futures Initiative (MFI) award to develop fiber-reinforced composite structures through a process called 4D printing.

Sheng Shen’s spectacular supersolder Opens in new window

Mechanical Engineering’s Sheng Shen has created “supersolder,” an ultracompliant thermal interface material with twice the thermal conductivity of conventional solders.

3D printing the next generation of batteries Opens in new window

MechE’s Rahul Panat has developed a revolutionary new method of fabricating battery electrodes using Aerosol Jet 3D printing.

The intersection of 3-D printing and machine learning Opens in new window

Self-correcting 3-D printers may soon become a reality, as Jack Beuth and Luke Scime have combined machine learning with 3-D printing to enable real time process monitoring.

Manufacturing the future Opens in new window

CMU established the Manufacturing Futures Initiative to support manufacturing research and fund interdisciplinary projects.

Lighter weight, lower costs in 3-D printing Opens in new window

Levent Burak Kara develops ways to best bolster lightweight, 3-D printed materials and reduce production costs.

A high-tech spin on spider silk Opens in new window

This game-changing technology can transform polymers from soft and thermally insulating materials to an ultra-strong and thermally conductive material.

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Is 3-D printing the future for ceramics? Opens in new window

B. Reeja Jayan has been awarded the NSF CAREER Award and $500,000 to pursue research in creating 3-D printing ceramics, and create an integrated research and game-based education plan.

Measuring macro with micro Opens in new window

College of Engineering’s Rebecca Taylor earns funding from the U.S. Air Force’s Young Investigator Research Program to develop next generation sensors with DNA and PNA.

Synthetic muscle gets its punch from design method Opens in new window

Carnegie Mellon researchers design building blocks for synthetic muscle using computational method.

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3-D printing better medical training Opens in new window

CMU team uses 3-D printing to create a hands-on training tool for surgeons.

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