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French additive manufacturing under study
The Carnot Institutes of the Manufacturing sector have established a quantitative mapping of the R&D workforce in the additive manufacturing industry in France. The mapping has revealed a strong workforce with 250 active full-time equivalents in this sector and a considerable development momentum. The survey continues.
250 full-time equivalents (FTE), that is the total number of individuals dedicated to Research & Development in additive manufacturing in France, according to a quantitative mapping that has just been carried out by the Carnot Institutes of the Manufacturing sector. This study is in line with the work previously undertaken, in particular the study entitled “3D printing: gateway in the 21 st century industry” and the mapping established by Safran Additive Manufacturing. Moreover, it has been coordinated with the PIPAME study, “Future of additive printing”, launched in late 2015. It produces a mapping of the R&D resources and skills in this area, over as broad an area as possible to integrate, in addition to the Carnot Institutes, the whole of the laboratories in question.
A young and dynamic workforce
On the basis of a “concentric circles” approach, the Carnot Institutes of the Manufacturing sector, backed by the CMI Firm, have identified approximately fifty research laboratories in France, with a total workforce of 250 FTE. It should be noted that the regional platforms which are only dedicated to technology transfer are not normally taken into account in the study. These entities, which are mainly aggregated into regional clusters, address all issues related with additive manufacturing, and several application sectors, in particular aeronautics. With regard to materials, almost all the surveyed centres work on metals, 50% and 35% of the players respectively work on polymers and ceramics. Finally, the study highlighted that the key skills of the surveyed centres were focused on materials, processes and inspection with an apparent shortfall in relation to the digital chain.
In addition to the mapping of the French workforce, the study also provided an outlined comparison with the workforce of several other countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States.
A living map
In a field as progressive as additive manufacturing, this initial work will need to be supplemented, clarified and updated on a regular basis. The selected methodology has inter alia excluded all investments which are being considered by the surveyed stakeholders and only takes into account the current resources and skills. According to the authors of the study, this mapping shall therefore be updated on a regular basis and at least annually.
The Carnot Manufacturing sector aggregates 11 institutes including Cetim, CEA List and Arts. It is aimed at providing easier access for SMEs and intermediate-sized companies to the whole of their expertise and technical resources in order to efficiently meet their R&D needs in the production area. Find more information on these actions here.
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