EPFL and CSEM open advanced manufacturing center
The Micro-Fabrication Research Center (M2C) was inaugurated on Tuesday. Research and transfer of new technologies are planned.
The center will serve as a catalyst to foster collaboration between academic, institutional and industrial partners, and will function as a training platform for its stakeholders. (Illustrative photo)
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EPFL and CSEM are opening an advanced manufacturing center in Neuchâtel to meet the technological challenges of the manufacturing industry. The Micro-Manufacturing Research Center (M2C), inaugurated on Tuesday, will bring together activities ranging from fundamental research to the transfer of new technologies to industry.
The M2C center will focus on different high precision 3D manufacturing methods. It will cover all stages of development, from fundamental research – carried out by EPFL laboratories – to the transfer of sustainable technologies with a strong economic impact to industry – under the guidance of CSEM, the two partners indicated.
The center will serve as a catalyst to foster collaboration between academic, institutional and industrial partners, and will function as a training platform for its stakeholders. “Precise, innovative and digitizable, 3D manufacturing techniques are at the heart of current industrial change, in which objects and computers are increasingly connected,” explained Bruno Studach, operational director of M2C, quoted in the press release.
Additive manufacturing or 3D printing consists of manufacturing objects by adding material in successive layers. It draws its growing success from the freedom of design it offers and the complex, but light and robust parts it allows to produce.
With 3D manufacturing methods, all stages of creation can be digitized, from design to production. A single machine can produce fundamentally different components.
From space to the watch industry
Within the M2C, scientists and engineers will create the design, develop and test new materials and manufacturing tools in order to get the most out of them. Because of their unique characteristics, 3D printed parts are attractive both for the space industry and for the development of custom-made medical prostheses, microfluidic devices, or watch parts.
The ability to integrate sensors and other functions directly into 3D fabricated components paves the way for the collection of multiple and precise data, whether for performing predictive maintenance or for monitoring technological installations. complex. The M2C center will offer solutions for components and systems ranging in size from a few microns to a few tens of centimeters.
Through this multidisciplinary collaboration, “EPFL and CSEM laboratories will share state-of-the-art equipment and work together to accelerate the adoption of new production technologies to ensure innovation and competitiveness for the Swiss manufacturing industry. “, explained Olha Sereda, one of the leaders of this project at CSEM.
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