Stellenbosch Technology Centre Historical Background

The Stellenbosch Technology Centre – Laboratory for Advanced Manufacturing (STC-LAM) is part of the Industrial Engineering Department at the University of Stellenbosch.  The centre is founded upon three main focus areas namely, Research and Development, Innovation Action Projects, and Education and Training. Our mission is simple: to deliver novel research, resource-efficient solutions, and high-quality education.  State of the art equipment for both subtractive (3- and 5-axis CNC, wire- and die sinking EDM) and additive manufacturing (laser beam melting) is utilised towards maintaining the high-quality outputs already established.  This includes extensive technology transfer to the industry with a large client base, as well as intensive national and international collaboration.  We offer services regarding design, process chain development and prototyping, additive- and subtractive manufacturing solutions, and metrology for quality control and reverse engineering.
The roots of the STC stem from 1997 in the form of the Global Competitive Centre (GCC), since then we have been assisting industry with the challenges of global competition. We work closely with our partners in the aerospace industry to benchmark and improve process chains of standardised titanium components.
As a leading institute for resource-efficient production the STC is your scientific research and development partner for the future industries of aerospace, automobile, medical, and mechanical engineering.