Prototybelab indvies hos DTU i Ballerup

Students get huge workshop for prototyping and 3D printing

Innovation and product development
The inauguration of a new prototype lab in Ballerup gives DTU students 600 m2 of state-of-the-art experimental facilities and a playground for product development and prototype production. And it’s open all day.

Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen, CEO at Dansk AM Hub, is not in doubt—prototyping is the way forward in future product development and innovation:

“We need additive manufacturing, where an item is produced layer on layer in three dimensions so we can tailor solutions to our customers. Faster, cheaper, with a more economical use of materials, and closer to the customer. In this respect, prototyping is the way forward. It’s not just a production method—it has to be fully integrated with the business strategy,” said Dansk AM Hub CEO at the inauguration of DTU’s new prototype lab at DTU Diplom in Ballerup.

The prototype lab is a 600 m2 state-of-the-art experimental facility, workshop, and playground for students working with product development and prototype production. The workshop will be used for courses and as a development workshop, among other things when BEng students develop prototypes with companies for their concluding project assignments. The workshop is open 24/7 for all DTU students.

Attractive competences for companies

According to Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen, knowledge of prototype processes and additive manufacturing such as 3D printing are attractive competences for those companies about to hire the next generation of BEng engineers.

“As a company, you can benefit a lot from being able to meet the customer and then go straight back to your workplace and produce a quick prototype, for example using equipment similar to what the students are learning to use here. Then you receive the customer’s feedback on the prototype, test it, and adjust it from there.”

“By using additive manufacturing such as a 3D printing, you can save both time and money compared to having to first make a mould and then cast the product. If a manufacturing company can master the process, it represents a big competitive advantage, as establishing good customer relations and involving the customer in the innovation process, for example with prototypes, is impossible to replicate,” says the CEO from Dansk AM Hub.

Malene Kirstine Holst, workshop manager at DTU Diplom, was given the honour of declaring the prototype lab at DTU Ballerup Campus open.

 

Open to all students

DTU students have 24/7 access to the prototype lab at the DTU campus in Ballerup with 3D printers, 3D scanners, milling machines, injection-moulding machine, laser cutters, and more. During working hours Monday-Friday, engineering assistants are on hand, ready to provide advice and guidance. The laboratory is located in room G 1.51 at Ballerup Campus. Students need to attend a mandatory safety course before being able to access the laboratory.