At Flanders Make, we help companies to innovate better and faster. By focusing on innovative products and smart production, companies increase their competitiveness and can respond more flexibly to a world that is changing rapidly.
Of course, companies cannot do this all on their own.
They need high-tech research infrastructure with which they can evaluate, validate and demonstrate new products and processes. It would be a huge investment for companies to provide the knowledge and equipment for this themselves. That is why at Flanders Make we offer a comprehensive range of test and validation infrastructure in our facilities spread across Flanders. Both large companies and SMEs can test and optimise their new products in real conditions. In addition, our experienced researchers and experts will assist companies to ensure they can make optimal use of the infrastructure. They commit themselves to the innovation project of companies and help them to develop and market new products better and faster.
Our 4 co-creation centres in Leuven, Lommel, Kortrijk & Sint-Truiden, together with labs of the 5 major Flemish universities, have all kinds of infrastructure for testing and validating products and optimising production. In this way, we can simulate an accelerated lifespan of vehicles.
Our 4+2 poster and climate chamber for vehicles exert a load on a vehicle for a certain period of time, corresponding with a certain lifespan, and combines this load with the impact of temperature and humidity. Sunlight simulation may also be one of the factors causing accelerated aging. At component level, we can perform similar tests by using an electrodynamic shaker to perform vibration tests within the scope of durability and accelerated life span testing. These tests can also be combined with a climate chamber and sunlight simulation. Energy-efficient electric drives can be validated in a hardware-in-the-loop laboratory. Here, we can test the quality of electric drives and their components in virtual conditions without actually incorporating them in a prototype vehicle or machine. In this way, products can be prepared for the market more quickly and efficiently.
In terms of production, robots and cobots play an important role in automating certain parts of the production process and operators will, thanks to digital work instructions, receive better support in carrying out more complex tasks. We offer various living labs in which, for example, we perform research into the cooperation between humans and robots or can train operators using virtual or augmented reality. In another living lab, we test the optimal method to connect materials with one another, either manually or using state-of-the-art robot technology. We also offer a pilot line for free-form optics for manufacturing custom-made optical sensors.
This, and much more, is possible at Flanders Make.
Flanders Make is an initiative supported by the Flemish Government, the Limburg Fund and the ERDF.
