SMEs
Connecting SMEs with research organisations to support innovation in the research and development process; providing technical expertise and resources for the development of European SMEs
The KETGATE project was implemented within the framework of the European Union Interreg Central Europe Programme, with the main objective to deliver tools and network structures for the establishment of an international key enabling technologies (KET) ecosystem. The implementation of the KETGATE project platform creates an opportunity for a new network of regional smart access points, whose purpose is to develop services in the field of key enabling technologies. Those services will be aimed at small and medium entrepreneurs and created according to their needs. TERA Tehnopolis d.o.o. is one of the eight partners gathered in the KETGATE project consortium and acts as the KETGATE contact point in Croatia.
Through its platform, the KETGATE project offers an opportunity to connect not only with research centres across Europe but also with a KETGATE contact point in the region where the company is situated. The contact points’ mission is to provide all the necessary information, to evaluate the organisation’s innovation potential and help fill out an application, i.e. a Service Request. The Project aims to involve small and medium entrepreneurs and facilitate their access to the state-of-the-art KET infrastructures of the highest quality so they could upgrade their production processes with innovative/advanced materials, through photonics and micro- and nanoengineering.
A company Phoenix d.o.o. got involved in the KETGATE project, received a micro-grant and, in cooperation with the Hungarian research-technology organisation Bay Zoltán Nonprofit Kft., began the implementation of the project that aimed to improve the mechanical properties of machine tooling, or more precisely, make them more durable and wear-resistant.
The main objective of this project was to investigate the damage on cutting tools used in spiral spring production and work out proposals for the extension of the tools’ lifecycle. Similarly, the goal was to explore novel materials for tool production or further surface treatment, i.e. types of advanced materials, their requests, cost efficiency, and other specifications.