Université Côte d’Azur, through its Institute for Innovation and Partnerships (IMREDD), the OCA, and the CNRS, is organising itself to better meet the needs of industry and research by creating a centre of expertise in additive manufacturing (3D printing). At the «Smart City Innovation Centre», they are pooling material and human resources to respond to a wider and greater number of demands and to support acceleration projects towards the industry of the future in the region.

3D Printing: A Technological Revolution

Additive Manufacturing or 3D printing technologies define all the processes that allow an object to be created from a digital file and manufactured by depositing successive layers of various materials (plastic, metal, ceramic, concrete, wood, or even organic and bio-based materials). They allow complex shape parts to be produced quickly in small series, reducing design time and offering production customisation. From building construction to printing parts for aerospace, through the manufacture of custom prosthetics or even the bioprinting of human tissues, 3D printing is finding its way into all sectors.

Technologies related to 3D printing represent a genuine industrial upheaval that will inevitably transform and impact jobs in the sectors concerned, while also representing an opportunity for development in terms of future or yet-to-be-defined offerings and professions. In this rapidly evolving market, the major challenge remains the acquisition of skills and knowledge that will enable companies to reposition themselves quickly and seize the new opportunities offered by additive manufacturing.

The Additive Manufacturing Competence Centre: a service to accelerate industrial development and research

The Additive Manufacturing Competence Centre

• offers access to cutting-edge technological resources.
• meets the needs of prototyping and micro-fabrication.
• covers the entire manufacturing chain of parts: general design, detailed design, industrialisation, materials control, 3D manufacturing, inspection and post-processing of parts.
• We offer comprehensive, personalised support with qualified engineers.

With a park of over thirty printers, industrial and research players are developing their projects on printers that allow for the manufacture of parts of different volumes and materials (polymers, ceramics, glass, and composites) using technologies such as polymer powder sintering, photopolymerisation, and material extrusion.

Examples of Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence achievements