Entrepreneurs, inventors and small business owners across Louisiana will be able to access new equipment to assist in the development and testing of new products at the Louisiana Business & Technology Center’s ProtoStripes Center in Baton Rouge.
With funding from the Delta Regional Authority and LSU, which operates the business incubator, the LBTC has purchased a new 3-D printer, digital mill and laser cutter. The equipment will allow the center to work on new materials and expand its assistance, LSU says in a news release.
The equipment reduces out-of-pocket costs for the development and testing of new products, LSU says, with the average prototype cost at just under $200.
“ProtoStripes at LSU has assisted Louisiana businesses to create prototypes in a faster time period at a fraction of the costs,” says LSU Innovation Park Executive Director Charlie D’Agostino in a prepared statement. “Previously, many of our companies had to contract with out-of-state prototype makers at 10 times the cost and with timelines of six months or more.”
In the first two years of operation, the ProtoStripes Center has helped local entrepreneurs create more than 100 prototypes. The center has developed prototypes for industrial products, medical devices, automotive parts, water filtration tools and consumer products.
