Innovative flex factory to serve students, industry partners under one roof

Walk into the Prototype Lab on the first floor of the Wilson College of Textiles on any given day, and you’re sure to see a flurry of activity.

You could find a student working with a 3D printer, giving literal shape to a new product concept.

Nearby, an entrepreneur might be researching the next concept they hope to someday bring to market, tapping into the facility’s state-of-the-art sewing or bonding equipment.

“It’s really quite busy,” remarks Andre West, director of NC State’s Zeis Textiles Extension.

But for all its early success since opening last summer, the Prototype Lab is, in many ways, just getting started.

In the coming months, the facility will be at the heart of a major renovation set to bring students, faculty and industry partners under one roof, promising new opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship.

A major renovation starts in 2025

Starting in February 2025, construction crews will put hammer to nail on an innovative hub soon to be known as the Flex Factory.

Once complete, the 30,000 square foot space will marry the equipment and technical capabilities of the Prototype Lab with the Wilson College’s Senior Design Lab, which today hosts seniors working on capstone projects in the Wilson College’s textile engineering and textile technology programs.

Capable of hosting a diverse array of users and projects, the Flex Factory is seen as a hive for student researchers and entrepreneurs, each of whom will be able to leverage the expertise of Wilson College faculty and staff — and make use of the facility’s state-of-the-art equipment.

“We’re going to be able to provide the space, and the programming, and programming support, for student innovation across campus,” says Bailey Knight, laboratory manager, noting that the facility will be an asset not just to the Wilson College — but also to those throughout the university.

“Obviously, we’ll have a lot of innovation coming from students in our own college,” Knight adds. “But other students from other colleges will be able to take advantage of this prototyping space as well.”

How the Flex Factory will work

Entrepreneurs interested in using the Flex Factory will be able to go online, fill out a form and explain what they’d like to make. Then, West’s team will follow up with the client with details on how the center might be able to help.

Visitors to the Prototype Lab portion of the Flex Factory will be able to make use of the facility’s yarn spinning, fabric cutting, sewing and printing capabilities.

Critically, the facility will also offer users the chance to experiment using high-dollar equipment and tiny quantities of material — both key hurdles to early-stage product development.

“I think of this space as a stepping stone for the startups, or entrepreneurs, to move to the next stage without the huge cost of bearing all that equipment that needs to be bought,” West explains. “We can do that with our skills, with our knowledge, with our teaching capacity.”

Make no mistake, the upcoming renovation will also transform what is, currently, a fairly nondescript-looking space into a state-of-the-art facility, with design plans calling for a concept lab, classrooms and sound-proof rooms necessary for confidential work, such as projects conducted in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Altogether, the facility is poised to offer the latest evidence of the entrepreneurial boom on the NC State’s Centennial Campus, says Dean David Hinks, Wilson College.

“The mission of the new Flex Factory is to serve as a catalyst for students across NC State to create new, more sustainable textile-based products and businesses by having access to state-of-the-art equipment, expertise and mentorship,” Hinks says. “It will augment the already outstanding entrepreneurship ecosystem already in place on Centennial Campus and across all colleges at NC State.”

Looking forward

Months before the Flex Factory retrofit has begun, the early results are promising.

The Prototype Lab already boasts a packed schedule, currently supporting more than a dozen projects. In many ways, West says, it’s validated the $8 million in investment from donors and university contributions.

“It’s a proving ground for us at this point,” West says of the Prototype Lab. “Just as much as it’s a proving ground for the projects that we take in.”

Of course, the finished Flex Factory will involve some hard hats and adjustments in the meantime.

Some work in the Prototype Lab will pause while the space undergoes its facelift in 2025 to make it more “cutting edge” and “revolutionary,” as West puts it — from the technical equipment itself to mezzanines and glass windows to make the space open and viewable to passersby.

But for a college that has been around for 125 years, this innovative space appears to be a major step into the future.

“The greatest thing about America is we’re full of entrepreneurs. But you have to give them the space, and you have to give them the opportunities,” West says. “That takes money and space. And that’s what we’re doing.”

This post was originally published in Wilson College of Textiles News.