EFRO Funding

The P3Lab is a result of EFRO funding of the European Union combined with the support of Ghent University.

The research group CPMT has gained an EFRO (European Fund for Regional Development) project called ‘Open Product and Material Test Centre’. The goal of this project is to place P3Lab as the key contact point in the domain of expertise in polymer processing, prototyping and pre-compliance testing and the network between education, research and industry (amongst which are spin-offs).

This fits perfectly in the idea of the New Industrial Policy of the Flemish government to empower the ‘industry of making’ in Flanders.

Within this framework there is an educational innovation project trying to provide all necessary tools to the engineering students of Gent university. An open platform for product development will be made to provide all students the possibilities to be creative, using modern technologies. 
Thinking of 3D printers, lasercutters, a toolshop, microcontroller experimental platforms… The tools to build literally anything one can imagine in small scale manufacturing enabled by digital technologies!

There are also demo and pilot setups for educational purposes that fit in perfectly in courses as product development, material technologies, mechanics, controlling systems,…