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Partner research in support of SMEs thanks to Capme’Up
Partner research in support of SMEs thanks to Capme’Up
The programme spearheaded by three Carnot institutes and aimed at making partner research more accessible to small and medium enterprises has been completed with positive results. Its three technological platforms have allowed SMEs to discover and implement technologies of the future.
Mission accomplished for Capme’Up. The programme was launched five years ago by the Cetim (project leader and coordinator), Ifpen and digital technologies @UPSaclay (formerly CEA List) Carnot institutes in order to develop partner R&D with very small, small, medium and intermediate-sized enterprises. Now completed, it boasts a growth of more than 55% in terms of the number of contracts as at late 2016 and between 15 and 35% in volume over the 5 years of the programme.
Three flagship actions
In order to “support the creation of industrial value through the contribution of profitable technologies and innovations for the development of SMEs and the improvement of their competitiveness”, Capme’Up implemented three major actions. The three Carnot institutes led a proactive prospecting approach with SMEs and intermediate-sized companies, that was aimed at understanding and assessing their need for innovation and providing relevant support solutions in a partner R&D approach. This involved inter alia the setup of “proof of concept” workshops around demonstrators, BtoB meetings with experts, dedicated mechanical engineering days and participation at various professional fairs. Accordingly, they helped to raise awareness to partner research and innovation amongst 2,000 companies, including over 680 direct BtoB contacts and deepened business relationships.
Capme’Up also implemented an innovation support service to enable the commercialisation of partner research into an industrial product and created three technological platforms open to SMEs that were led by each of the partners.
Three technological platforms
Since its creation in 2013, the innovative Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) platform, run by the Cetim Carnot institute, has welcomed several hundred companies either as part of dedicated workshops or within the context of specific meetings. Via demonstrators, they were able to learn more about the industrial applications of the current NDT technologies as well as the associated simulation tools, in addition to conducting tests and assessing the feasibilities of their own applications.
The interactive robotic platform was opened in 2014 and features six demonstrators (a machining robot, a completion cell, two collaborative robots and two cobots designed to assist in industrial tasks) that were made available to SMEs to carry out feasibility studies or launch production. It includes in particular the demonstrator selected by the Ministry of Labour to illustrate the possibilities of collaborative robotics.
For its part, the system integration platform led by the Ifpen Carnot institute, dedicated to dimensioning, virtual prototyping and to the test of complex systems, saw the production of seven demonstrators, in particular in the agricultural machinery sector. Amongst these demonstrators, the electrified food distribution system for cattle developed by Kuhn Audureau is the first step towards a new optimised energy-efficient product equipped with new features.
Continued efforts in other fields
Capme’up is now ended. The three Carnot institutes involved intend to continue enhancing the partnership implemented during the project as part of the Carnot “Manufacturing”, “Carnauto” and “AirCar” sectors, and sustain the platforms with own financing.
A video illustrating the development performed by Kuhn Audureau as part of the programme is also online on the Cetim France YouTube channel.
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