Whether metallic, ceramic or multi-material, additive manufacturing presents many strategic challenges for the industry, in prototyping as well as in production. But successfully integrating 3D printing into industry requires a collaborative approach, which promotes innovation and optimizes investments. This is the goal of the 3D Metal Initiative (I3D), a community born in 2016 and managed by the CIMES competitiveness cluster.
CIMES is the competitiveness cluster for engineering and solutions for efficient, responsible and personalized industrial manufacturing production. It is located both in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Nouvelle-Aquitaine, a territory which represents more than 30% of the French workforce in the mechanical industry and 500,000 jobs dedicated to manufacturing.
But this is not its only asset: there is also the largest concentration of permanent researchers in Engineering and Systems Sciences, as well as several renowned technical centers, laboratories and educational and training establishments.
Communities of expertise, a place of emulation
The role of competitiveness clusters is to support innovation in the regions. To assume this role, they focus on creating synergies between companies, research laboratories and training establishments.
However, creating synergies is what the CIMES cluster does, through the animation of communities of experts like I3D. Thanks to its 6 technical centers and platforms and 8 laboratories covering the entire value chain in additive manufacturing (AM), I3D manages to mobilize 100 Full-Time Equivalents and 25 metal AM machines.
This networking of skills and resources allows I3D to offer an extensive technological range.
Several competitiveness clusters are interested in additive manufacturing
Other centers are also positioning themselves on these technologies, almost everywhere in France. Here are some of them:
- The pole EuraMaterials (Hauts de France) supports the transition of companies towards sustainability, through materials and processes. Additive manufacturing is one of his areas of interest, in particular questions of sustainability and the obstacles to the emergence of these technologies. A community called Sustain-3D was even launched in May 2024.
- Aerospace Valley (Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine) is the European hub of the aerospace industry. Through AddimAlliance, it brings together companies, research centers and academic institutions to collaborate on innovative projects in the field.
- POLYMERIS (present in 6 regions) is the merger of the former Plastipolis and Elastopôle centers. Its Additive Manufacturing club brings together several industrial players around polymer or metal AM technologies, linked to the manufacturing of parts or tools.
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