3D printing giant Stratasys has announced that the first MakerBot Innovation Centre in Europe is set to open in Italy this June at the LIUC – Università Cattaneo.
The MakerBot Innovation Centre will be the first of its kind in Europe that will be carried out with the help of the researchers of Smart Up – Digital Manufacturing Laboratory. SmartUp is a project with the goal to spread the culture of digital manufacturing and has been developed by the LIUC and the Unione degli Industriali della Provincia di Varese.
“We are excited about bringing the first MakerBot Innovation Centre to Europe. The opening of the MakerBot Innovation Centre will represent a great chance to empower students, faculty and professionals to innovate, keep pace with developments and will prepare students for the business challenges of tomorrow,” said Alexander Hafner, General Manager with MakerBot Europe.
“MakerBot Europe is providing the consulting, technical support, and training needed to set up the MakerBot Innovation Centre at LIUC. We are bringing in Energy group from Bentivoglio, our MakerBot Authorised Reseller Gold, to provide the 3D Printers and technical support for LIUC”, said Dr Jochen Zimmer, Director Professional Services with MakerBot Europe.
The Centre for LIUC includes 20 MakerBot® Replicator 3D Printers (three MakerBot Replicator® Mini Compact 3D Printers, 12 MakerBot Replicator® Desktop 3D Printers, five MakerBot Replicator® Z18 3D Printers).
“From next year our Engineering students will have the chance to challenge their skills in designing and manufacturing prototypes in the context of simulated start-ups. The MakerBot Innovation Centre will allow us to continue and develop the activities carried out by SmartUp, giving our students a concrete opportunity of hands-on experience with the next technologies of digital manufacturing, which are increasingly part of the everyday life of enterprises,” said Prof Luca Mari, Director of SmartUp – Digital Manufacturing Laboratory and Professor in the School of Industrial Engineering of LIUC.
“This project is aimed at supporting companies that are moving toward product and process innovation in order to get new market opportunities in a highly competitive environment,” concluded Samuele Astuti and Mauro Mezzenzana, Innovation Centre Team Leaders.
