A state-of-the-art manufacturing laboratory is now available to students and staff at the University of Magdeburg who are interested in starting a business. Located in Building 12 on the university campus, it is equipped with cutting-edge technology for the rapid and cost-effective production of prototypes for their business ideas. Funded with €800,000 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the so-called MakerLab Additiv+ is equipped with everything to make the hearts of aspiring entrepreneurs beat faster.
The manufacturing laboratory is part of a series of so-called ego. incubators, which are designed to support and promote business ideas, serve as prototype workshops, and foster entrepreneurial thinking and action.
“The Additiv+ incubator is aimed at all interested founders who wish to develop products or services,” says Lars Berg, head of the Additiv+ incubator at the Chair of Manufacturing Technology with the Focus on Machining. The manufacturing laboratory offers start-up teams the opportunity to produce the first durable prototypes of their product ideas quickly and easily and to analyse them in terms of their properties. "To this end, the Additiv+ manufacturing laboratory is equipped with a selective laser melting system, which enables the production of components from metallic powder based on 3D data sets. A drag and vibratory grinding system is available for the post-processing of the manufactured components, and a confocal microscope can be used to analyse the surface of the manufactured component. “Residual stresses potentially induced by the manufacturing process can be identified using an X-ray diffractometer,” says the engineer. A new addition is an optical micro-coordinate measuring machine. This allows users to independently carry out dimensional, positional and geometric measurements and derive 3D data sets from the measurement results in order to optimise their designs and test them at an early stage.
In addition to this infrastructure, the incubator offers personalised support, says Lars Berg. "Users receive training in equipment technology as well as support with product development and manufacturing. Through collaboration with the University’s Transfer and Start-Up Center (TUGZ), as well as through workshops and pitch events, start-up teams are connected and receive additional support on the topics of financing and business model development.”
The next opportunity for those interested to visit the incubator is the Open Day on 24 May 2025. Information tours will be offered under the theme "From idea to innovation: insights into production technology%$.
