Intervala Hosts Students for Manufacturing Innovation Challenge

Students from Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, Pa., held the full attention of Intervala’s engineers and executive team on May 24. The students had been challenged to reverse engineer and enhance fixtures and tooling used with Intervala’s high-speed component placement and test equipment. Additional innovations were encouraged. The experience was part of the Manufacturing Innovation Challenge, sponsored by Catalyst Connection in Pittsburgh.

The students rendered their inventive designs with CAD software and created working prototypes using their school program’s 3-D printer. Then, they presented their prototypes while making formal presentations to the Intervala team at the company’s headquarters. “The students did a very nice job with the challenge and presented some great, creative ideas for us to consider implementing in our factory,” said Program Manager Chance Turner.

By teaming students with local companies to solve real-world problems with real-world solutions, the Manufacturing Innovation Challenge (formerly, Adventures in Technology) generates excitement about career opportunities in manufacturing, information technology, life sciences, or other technology in southwestern Pennsylvania. To learn more about the Manufacturing Innovation Challenge, visit the Catalyst Connection website.