Research & Development

Zavod 404 cooperates with domestic and foreign companies in the areas of software and hardware development, product development, and consulting in the planning phase. The knowledge that mentors and students gain on projects can be directly transformed into solving real industry challenges or starting their own entrepreneurial journey.

For the needs of the pharmaceutical industry, we have developed three types of 3D printers, the goal of which is to manufacture

• Classic FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) where printing is done by polymer extrusion in filament. The polymer is impregnated with an active ingredient, the dose of which can be controlled by the size of the printed object.
• The Powder printer, which we developed last year, applies the liquid to the powder substrate that binds it. The advantage of the printer is that the printing is carried out at room temperature, in contrast to the classical process, where the active ingredient is extruded at high temperature.
  
• The gel printer is an upgrade of the aforementioned printers. The advantages of gel printing are, in addition to printing at room temperature, also cleaner and more efficient printing. We also developed one of the printers for CeBeDot, which prepares thin CBD sheets for home use.

In 2019, due to past successful projects, a company called Spectre Laboratories d.o.o. was established as the second official spin-off company of Zavod 404. It is immersed in the development of powder 3D printers for the needs of the pharmaceutical industry. It was founded by students and graduates of various technical faculties from Ljubljana.

Smart-OR

Together with an inventor dr. Zoran Preveden we designed and manufactured Smart-OR – an intelligent basket for counting medical waste. This way the instrumentalist can fully dedicate himself to assisting the surgeon during the operation. The device counts the amount of waste via IR light curtain and displays it on the screen. The device is currently being tested in five hospitals, and in 2019 it was be certified for its intended use.

Respirator DIHAM (en. BREATHE)

The partners of the “DIHAM” respirator came together in March 2020, during  COVID-19 crisis, which endangered lives all over the world. We united with a goal of developing a prototype of a life-saving respirator, which could be completely self-sufficiently produced in Slovenia, with Slovenian components and Slovenian knowledge. We managed to bring this initiative from complete chaos to a working prototype.

It is a so-called turbine pressure respirator (without inflatable bellows), intended for the most critical patients. Those with severely damaged lungs who can no longer breathe on their own and need a medically adapted dosage of a mixture of air and oxygen. The device is designed in such a way that it can operate in a hospital environment as well as in mobile hospitals or even independently.

Production of LED panels for more efficient cultivation of plants in greenhouses

In cooperation with the Biotechnical Faculty in Ljubljana, we produced an LED lamp with variable spectral radiation. By varying and accurately determining the spectrum produced by the luminaire strain, it is possible to provide the plants with more adequate lighting and thus more efficient growth in greenhouses.

We have developed a luminaire consisting of custom-made panels with LEDs of different colors. This allows for different colors and modes of radiation and thus contributes to the better growth of different plants. The lamp can be controlled remotely.

The project included students from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, who did an internship with us in the spring of 2020. Interns Luka from the Secondary School of Technical Professions Šiška and  Nikola from the School Center Ljubljana were also involved in the work.

Development of a system for upgrading the production line

For the company Vip Virant, which manufactures a large number of technical products, we manufacture and optimize a system for controlling the length of cables on the device for cutting and removing insulation.

How does It work?

Initially, data on the cable (total length, length of removed insulation,…) is transferred from the database to the device, and the device displays data on the selected cable on the screen. During the operation of the machine, the device records the data on each manufactured cable, compares it with the input data and writes it to the database, and displays the operating status on the screen. The system connects a RaspberryPi microcomputer, a rotary encoder, a peripheral casing, and an LCD monitor. Housing was also made for the device.

The project involved a graduate of the Faculty of Computer and Information Science, Petra, who developed the topic of the diploma thesis based on the work on the project, and Klemen, a graduate of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, who designed the housing.

Development of an electronic candle with a solar cell for mass production

In cooperation with the client, we developed an electronic candle with a solar cell. A circuit with an LED light connected to a battery was upgraded with a solar cell. By introducing green technologies, we are trying to extend the life of the electronic candle. We placed great emphasis on the development of low-cost production and material, which is nevertheless still high quality and suitable for everyday use.

Together with national and international partners, we complement our development activities by participating in tenders, where we strengthen the internal knowledge chain and establish long-term partnerships. We are especially active in the fields of 3D printing, construction of customized machine solutions for industry, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Current grant projects:

• H2020 grants – WOOL2LOOP
• DEMO project I – MGRT
• DEMO project II – MGRT

WOOL2LOOP

In 2019, we became one of the partners of the WOOL2LOOP project, which aims to convert mineral wool from construction waste into new materials using alkaline activation technology (“geopolymers”), as they can be a substitute for cement-based construction products. Our task in the consortium is to manufacture a machine for 3D printing of geopolymers and identification of printing mixtures in the form of gels. The consortium consists of 15 organizations from all over Europe, which will carry out large-scale demonstration experiments in two years.

Martin, an intern at the Šiška Secondary School of Technical Professions, also took part in the project.

TELEVERSE d.o.o. became the first official spin-off company of Zavod 404 in 2018. It’s purpose is the development of software and hardware for the needs of IoT in the field of energy. In addition to physical devices, the company is also developing tools for interpretation and statistical analysis.

Televerse presents advanced telemetry solutions. With the development of our own measuring devices, we have enabled customers to connect a large number of sensors, and in addition, we can build a single database and thus ensure security and consistency. The web platform enables real-time analysis and alerts, as well as more advanced data analysis based on predictions and a process optimization model.