Applied research, systems engineering and technology transfer

The Smart Manufacturing Lab Association (SMLab) is a non-profit scientific association active in applied research, systems engineering and technology transfer.

It operates in close synergy with the Center for Sustainable Future Technologies (IIT CSFT) at the Politecnico di Torino and is based at Environment Park (Envipark) in Turin, a reference hub for hydrogen technologies and industrial sustainability.

SMLab supports companies, research centres and institutions in the definition, development and safety assurance of advanced technological systems, with particular specialization in hydrogen and cryogenic systems, power electronics, unmanned systems (UAV), dual-use applications and, most recently, nuclear & radiation protection. Its members include specialist skills in the aeronautical and space domains, strengthening the mastery of mission, safety and component-qualification requirements typical of these sectors.

The association has also taken part — and still takes part — in Italian military programmes, with activities related to aviation fuels and underwater energy generation, and brings consolidated experience in the design and management of projects funded at regional, national and European level.

Enabling infrastructure

The association manages the commissioning, at Environment Park, of the first cryogenic test bench dedicated to testing components for space applications in liquid hydrogen (LH₂) — a distinctive asset for qualifying components in a representative environment, benefiting the broader hydrogen aerospace supply chain.

Nuclear & radiation protection

With its newest area, SMLab brings its requirements → architecture → safety → certifiability method, together with the hands-on shielding experience of its own expert group, to the field of ionizing radiation — for medical, industrial, new nuclear, fusion and space applications. The approach covers the full cycle from measurement to model to component:

• shielding materials — cement and polymer composites with high-Z oxide nanoparticles: lightweight, lead-free shielding, including 3D-printable grades;
• experimental testing — gamma spectrometry with ¹³⁷Cs and ⁶⁰Co sources, attenuation coefficients (LAC, MAC, HVL, TVL) and comparison with NIST XCOM;
• Serpent simulation — Monte Carlo neutron and photon transport for shielding, dose, activation and neutronics of SMRs and fusion systems, validated against the measurements;
• design & safety — collimators and conformal shielding in AM/CNC, HAZID/HAZOP and regulatory mapping (Legislative Decree 101/2020, IAEA, Euratom).

This area builds directly on the association's founding expertise in nanostructured materials and additive manufacturing. Discover the nuclear services →

Our roots: smart manufacturing and additive

SMLab was born as a meeting and aggregation place for the cultural growth of additive manufacturing technologies, through scientific research, engineering and training: the search for new materials, new production techniques and new tools for the structural formation of objects.

Research activities promoted by the association:

• applications of nano-structured materials to three-dimensional printing and to the structural engineering of components and objects;
• new concepts related to the use of nano-structured materials and 3D printing techniques.

Training activities promoted:

• management of new manufacturing processes through new materials and three-dimensional printing techniques;
• qualification of new objects created through new technologies.