An innovative collaboration revolutionizes additive manufacturing

Since 2022, the University Laboratory for Automated Production Research (LURPA) at ENS Paris-Saclay has been developing alongside Spare Parts 3D a solution that simplifies and accelerates the transformation of technical drawings into 3D plans suitable for 3D printing. This innovation is significant in the field of additive manufacturing.

A solution for the industry of the future

This technology module called "Théia" allows for the transformation of a technical drawing into a 3D plan ready for 3D printing in just a few minutes. This innovation reduces design and production lead times, as well as storage costs. Production becomes more efficient, and the availability of spare parts is almost immediate. By facilitating production, this tool now offers the possibility to relocate production, thus contributing to boosting the local industry.

According to Nabil Anwer, CIRP Fellow, Professor at the University of Paris-Saclay, Deputy Director of LURPA at ENS Paris-Saclay, and expert in shape engineering and 3D reconstruction:

"Théia tackles two major challenges: firstly, reading, understanding, and interpreting the information present on the drawing, and secondly, obtaining a 3D shape from its representation on 2D plans, while respecting the geometric and dimensional specifications of the original object. The development of Théia results from a harmonious marriage between the latest developments in AI (deep learning, segmentation, automatic labeling...), mastery of classical computer vision technologies (optical recognition of symbols, feature matching), and semantic analysis of technical drawings. This combination allows for the identification of the different semantic layers of the 2D drawing and thus optimal interpretation of the technical drawing for its reconstruction in 3D."

Winner of France 2030 and significant financial support

Winner of France 2030, member of French Tech & French Lab, and "Ambassador of Team France Export," Spare Part 3D has received significant financial support of 1.4 million euros from the Defense Innovation Agency (AID). This recognition underlines the strategic importance of this collaboration and confirms the potential of the innovation developed by SP3D and ENS Paris-Saclay.

Outlook and challenges ahead

Despite the advances already made, some technological challenges remain, particularly concerning the analysis of cross-sectional plans and complex surfaces. SP3D and ENS Paris-Saclay continue their collaboration to offer a more comprehensive and efficient solution to industrialists.