MAKE Pittsburgh

MAKE Pittsburgh
Name	MAKE Pittsburgh
Formation	2011
Type	Nonprofit makerspace
Headquarters	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Location	Lawrenceville
Leader title	Executive Director

MAKE Pittsburgh is a nonprofit makerspace and community fabrication lab founded in 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The organization operates as a shared workshop offering tools, training, and collaborative space for inventors, artists, students, entrepreneurs, and hobbyists. MAKE Pittsburgh connects local members with regional institutions, encouraging applied projects in robotics, digital fabrication, electronics, metalworking, woodworking, and public art.

History

MAKE Pittsburgh traces origins to grassroots maker and hacker communities that coalesced in the early 2010s alongside movements such as the Fab Lab network, the maker movement popularized by Make: magazine, and the rise of community workshops like TechShop. Founders drew inspiration from local institutions including Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the Robotics Institute to create an accessible fabrication hub in Pittsburgh neighborhoods like Lawrenceville and the Strip District. Early collaborations involved partnerships with arts organizations such as Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and community centers such as the Mattress Factory, while funding and incubation support came from regional development entities including Pittsburgh Technology Council and Allegheny Conference on Community Development. Over successive relocations and expansions, the organization responded to shifts in urban revitalization, maker education initiatives, and workforce development efforts promoted by entities such as PA Department of Community and Economic Development and Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Organization and Membership

The organization operates as a member-driven cooperative similar in governance style to other nonprofit makerspaces like Noisebridge and Boston Makerspaces. Membership tiers accommodate individuals affiliated with institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University, Chatham University, and Penn State, as well as small businesses and startups that emerged from incubators like AlphaLab and Innovation Works. Leadership and volunteer instructors frequently include alumni and researchers from Carnegie Mellon’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute and faculty from University of Pittsburgh. Committees coordinate safety, tool maintenance, outreach to community colleges such as Community College of Allegheny County, and collaboration with arts entities including Pittsburgh Filmmakers and Bayernhof Museum. Members collaborate on projects referencing standards used by organizations such as ASTM International when applicable.

Facilities and Equipment

MAKE Pittsburgh’s workshops host equipment types common to community fabrication labs, including CNC routers, laser cutters, 3D printers, metal lathes, MIG/TIG welders, band saws, and electronics workbenches stocked with oscilloscopes and soldering stations. Facilities have been arranged to accommodate digital design workflows using software from Autodesk and open-source toolchains favored by Fab Lab affiliates and makers associated with Adafruit and SparkFun. Safety infrastructure aligns with guidelines from National Fire Protection Association and Occupational Safety and Health Administration where required for shared-use shops. The layout supports multidisciplinary projects combining woodworking techniques familiar to members of the American Association of Woodturners and metalworking practices used by local blacksmiths and fabrication shops.

Programs and Workshops

Programming includes recurring workshops in Arduino-based electronics, Raspberry Pi computing, CAD modeling, and wearable electronics—topics embraced by communities around Hackaday and IEEE. Educational partnerships include afterschool programs coordinated with regional school districts and STEM initiatives modeled on FIRST Robotics Competition and VEX Robotics support. Maker skill classes are led by practitioners with experience in theater prop fabrication used by Pittsburgh Public Theater and industrial design studios. Special sessions target entrepreneurs developing hardware products compatible with prototyping programs from entities like MassMEP and the Hardware Club.

Community Projects and Partnerships

Community-facing projects have involved public art installations, neighborhood revitalization efforts, and collaborative builds with cultural institutions such as the Pittsburgh Biennial, Mattress Factory, and Allegheny County parks departments. Partnerships with nonprofit organizations including United Way and Neighborhood Allies have supported workforce training and maker entrepreneurship. MAKE Pittsburgh has worked with commuter-oriented initiatives like Port Authority of Allegheny County on transit-oriented design prototypes and collaborated with local healthcare providers such as UPMC for assistive device prototyping. Collaborative research relationships have formed with centers at Carnegie Mellon and University of Pittsburgh for applied fabrication in fields tied to robotics, biomedical devices, and environmental sensing.

Notable Achievements and Impact

Notable outcomes include incubation of startups that progressed through regional accelerators such as Innovation Works and AlphaLab; production of public sculptures and festival installations for events like Three Rivers Arts Festival; and delivery of workforce-development cohorts in partnership with community colleges. Members have exhibited work at institutions including the Carnegie Museum of Art and participated in national maker events such as World Maker Faire and the National Maker Faire circuit. The makerspace has been cited in local reporting from outlets like Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh City Paper for its role in neighborhood economic activity and STEAM education initiatives.

Funding and Governance

MAKE Pittsburgh operates as a nonprofit entity funded through a combination of membership fees, class tuition, private donations, and grants from foundations and government programs. Philanthropic support has come from regional foundations such as The Heinz Endowments, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and state-level arts agencies like Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Project-specific funding and partnerships have included corporate sponsorships from technology vendors and in-kind equipment donations from manufacturers and distributors such as MatterHackers and Tormach. Governance includes a board of directors with representation from local business leaders, academics from Carnegie Mellon and University of Pittsburgh, and community stakeholders aligned with nonprofit governance practices modeled on national organizations such as the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands.

Category:Makerspaces Category:Organizations based in Pittsburgh