Technologies for the industry of the futur
New
manufac-
turing
Optics / Photonics
Saint-Étienne Métropole is a strategic centre for optics and photonics, key disciplines centred on the study, control and use of light and photons.
The region combines scientific expertise, industrial capacity and advanced technology platforms to support the development of innovative solutions.
avanced
manufacturing processes
Additive
manufacturing
Additive manufacturing enables the production of parts that are difficult or impossible to make using traditional processes. It also requires the just amount of material.
Applied to all areas and and stages of manufacturing, from spare parts to the creation of complex parts for machine tools or engines, additive manufacturing is the new way of producing :
- Custom-made
- In real time
- In short supply chains
- In a resource-efficient manner
As manufacturers of metal additives, polymers, powders, filaments etc. Saint-Étienne Métropole’s companies are developing every area of investigation.
Sustainable innovation
Additive manufacturing makes it possible to drastically reduce consumption of resources and materials by working by addition rather than subtraction.
Research & development and application
in Saint-Etienne Métropole
In 2015, ENISE set up the ADDIFAB platform, the first of its kind in France and Europe. This platform covers the entire additive manufacturing value chain, from the development to the completion of parts, including selective laser melting and laser projection processes.
surface
treatment
Acting mechanically, chemically, electrochemically or physically, surface treatment modifies the surface of materials in order to adapt them to specific operating conditions. Linked to the core activity of the mechanical engineering industry, surface engineering has developed in the Saint-Étienne Métropole region using a variety of methods and resources :
- Tribology
- Chemical treatment
- Photonics/lasers
- Hydrogen
Throughout the value chain, research and development, proof of concept, industrialisation etc. apply.
Research & development and application
in Saint-Etienne Métropole
Manutech USD’s Equipex LaserFemto is the 1st European femtosecond laser platform for industry.
Sustainable innovation
Machining processes enable production to be adapted in real time to energy availability/cost curves..
Smart
factory
Smart factory is the basis of Industry 4.0 and a new level of efficient, intelligent and sustainable performance.
Sustainable innovation
Machining processes enable production to be adapted in real time to energy availability/cost curves.
Research & development and application in Saint-Etienne Métropole
In 2018, Mines Saint-Etienne and UIMM Loire launched the IT’M Factory platform, equipped with ultra-modern tools, techniques and methods: digital lean, virtual and augmented reality, scanning and 3D printing, drones, collaborative robots, digital twins, big data, artificial intelligence, cyber security etc associated with the transitions on the role of people in factories and the energy and ecology transition.
Are you leading an innovative industrial project?
Saint-Étienne Métropole can put its experts at your service: research, networking, financing, setting up…