Entrust your manufacturing R&D projects to us
Are you an industrial player? Entrust your R&D projects to IRT Jules Verne and gain rapid and efficient access to the potential of innovative manufacturing technologies.
With over 300 R&D projects already completed, IRT Jules Verne has established itself as a leading technical centre in France and offers a comprehensive range of services based on its five areas of manufacturing expertise.
Within a few months, our teams will help you validate your technological choices, accelerate your development and industrialisation projects, strengthen your competitiveness, reduce the risks associated with innovation, and minimise the environmental impact of your processes and products.
Since 2015, more than 100 manufacturers across the country have already benefited from our R&D services: SMEs, mid-cap companies and large groups in a variety of sectors such as aerospace, nuclear power, climate control, shipbuilding, land transport, healthcare, agri-food and construction.
- IRT Jules Verne offers bespoke R&D services to meet the specific needs of manufacturers, accelerate the industrialisation of innovations and boost competitiveness.
- IRT Jules Verne is a proven technical and technological centre, combining high-level expertise, state-of-the-art equipment and over 10 years’ experience in complex R&D.
- 5 areas of technological expertise available: composite processes, metalworking processes, modelling & simulation, robotics and cobotics, monitoring, inspection and quality control of processes and components.
- Comprehensive support, from consultancy through to proof of concept and industrial transfer
- A results-oriented approach
Ils nous font confiance
Why entrust your R&D work to IRT Jules Verne?
- To quickly validate your technological choices by building proof-of-concept prototypes
- To minimise risks prior to large-scale deployment
- To benefit from a secure experimental environment that has already been tried and tested in industrial use cases
- To reduce your time-to-market
- To benefit from world-class technological expertise that complements your own
Customized R&D services to meet your specific industrial needs
IRT Jules Verne supports manufacturers in their development projects by offering services tailored to their needs. Our service offering is based on combining the skills and technological resources of the Institute’s five areas of expertise.
This takes the form of prototyping services, R&D activities, the creation of industrial demonstrators, as well as technology transfer and training.
3 key features
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01
Duration
3 to 6 months
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02
Format
Short & results-oriented format
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03
Funding
R&D tax credit option
Additive Manufacturing
Types of services we provide for industry
- 01 R&D Consultancy, audits, diagnostics, technical expertise, feasibility studies, development, process monitoring and simulation, etc.
- 02 Equipment Proof of concept, prototyping, demonstration unit manufacturing, testing on our technology platforms, etc.
- 03 Technology transfer Technical and economic support, technical studies for pilot/industrial production lines, industrial demonstrators, etc.
- 04 Training Skills development in technical subjects or project management
5 fields applied to R&D services in manufacturing
Metallic
Metal welding & additive manufacturing
Innovative metal processes are one of the pillars of the technological research carried out at the IRT Jules Verne (Nantes) since 2012. The objective is twofold: to industrialize additive manufacturing technologies (DED-fil and AFSD) and to automate welding assembly (Arc and FSW) by improving productivity and quality.
Supervised by Grégoire Bazin, our technological research team is made up of about fifteen R&D engineers, experts, technicians and PhD students. It develops innovations for metal manufacturing processes based on additive manufacturing and metal welding technologies in liquid and solid state.
The team relies on know-how in metal processes and materials and on state-of-the-art equipment that differentiates it. It works in synergy with the other research teams of the IRT Jules Verne in order to offer global support.
- Automated Metal Welding Assembly
- Large-Scale Metal Additive Manufacturing Using DED Wire (Liquid State)
- AFSD Large-Scale Metal Additive Manufacturing (Solid-State)
- Repair and Reloading
Modelling & Simulation
To enhance the competitiveness of the industrial sector, IRT Jules Verne relies on modeling and numerical simulation of manufacturing processes to address the major challenges facing French industry. Based in Nantes since 2012, the Modelling and Simulation team studies the behavior of structures and manufacturing processes and works on the shaping and assembly of materials. It uses and develops digital tools for its R&D projects and services to size, predict, optimize, and understand.
The objective is clear: to provide reliable data to manufacturers to facilitate decision-making and reduce the time and cost of development.
Led by Stéphanie Colliou, the team consists of 18 R&D engineers, experts, and doctoral students. It has a strong digital culture and is proficient in a wide range of simulation software. Working in collaboration with the institute’s other technological expertise areas, the simulation and modeling work is validated through testing. The team relies on a network of partners to characterize materials and feed data into the models.
- Simulation and optimisation of composite processes
- Simulation and optimisation of metallic processes
- Digital twin of the process
- Assembly and tolerancing
- Thermal management of processes
Monitoring & process control
Develop non-destructive testing of critical parts and monitor manufacturing processes to reduce production costs.
To reduce inspection costs, IRT Jules Verne develops innovative technologies in process monitoring (PHM), non-destructive testing (NDT) and integrated health control (SHM) at its premises in Nantes.
The team also offers the digital tools essential for the automatic real-time analysis of the data collected, in particular by using artificial intelligence to predict the quality of parts, provide feedback on processes, assist the operator in his diagnosis and ensure the digital continuity of all operations in the production range. The solutions developed are then deployed in production and maintenance in the aeronautics, naval, energy and transport sectors.
Led by Nicolas Terrien since 2022, the team is made up of around fifteen experienced experts, PhDs, engineers and R&D technicians and uses cutting-edge technological platforms to carry out its research work.
- Monitoring of manufacturing processes
- Automated and flexible non-destructive testing
- Automatic analysis of inspection and monitoring data
- Integrated health monitoring of structures
Composites
Based near Nantes, the IRT Jules Verne has, since its creation in 2012, developed outstanding expertise in the manufacturing processes for composite parts and structures.
As the core activity that led to its creation, the institute’s expertise in composite materials processes is now recognised at both national and European levels. IRT Jules Verne is also recognised as a key player in the field within international networks, notably JEC World, which has on several occasions recognised the groundbreaking technological innovations developed at the institute.
With a multi-sector technological research team dedicated to composite materials and processes, IRT Jules Verne leads collaborative national and European R&D projects and provides R&D services to address industrial performance challenges, particularly those relating to the manufacture of complex and large-scale structures.
The R&D activities combine the development of innovative processes with product design in order to optimise production costs, meet production rate targets and reduce environmental impact. They cover thermoplastic and thermosetting composite materials, from preforming and shaping through to assembly.
Linking up with IRT Jules Verne’s expertise in modelling and simulation, robotics and process monitoring, the team develops comprehensive solutions, from technical and economic feasibility studies through to full-scale industrial demonstrators.
- Large-scale automated preforming
- Liquid impregnation processes: thick infusion, RTM injection and isothermal CRTM
- Forming processes: thermocompression, stamping/overmolding and non-autoclave consolidation
- Welding of TP composites
Robotics & Cobotics
The flexible and smart industry is taking shape in Nantes, at IRT Jules Verne. Since 2012, our technology team specializing in industrial robotics and cobotics has been developing solutions tailored to the production challenges faced by French manufacturers. These innovations take shape through national and European collaborative research projects and research services.
Our goal: to automate composite and metalworking processes and optimize the deployment of robots in complex industrial environments.
Comprising some twenty experts, engineers, technicians, and doctoral students, the team is led by Sébastien Rubrecht and has access to cutting-edge, proprietary resources, delivering robust and flexible robotic and cobotic solutions. These solutions are designed for rapid industrialization and address the challenges of flexibility, performance, precision, and ergonomics.
At IRT Jules Verne, R&D in robotics and cobotics works in synergy with the institute’s other areas of technological expertise, which specialize in metalworking processes, composite processes, simulation, and process monitoring.
- Automation of composite and metal fabrication processes
- Automated programming
- Precision compliant robotics
- Vision-based control
- Parallel cable robotics
- Localization & navigation of collaborative mobile robots
- Digital factory: diagnostics and optimization of production flows
Why you should trust us with your R&D projects?
Entrusting your R&D work to IRT Jules Verne gives you access to:
- 01 A flexible organisation focused on industrial challenges
- 02 A culture of results and excellence delivered within a short timeframe
- 03 A combination of five complementary areas of manufacturing expertise
- 04 High-level expertise and state-of-the-art equipment
- 05 Over 10 years’ experience in complex R&D and technology transfer to manufacturing plants
Examples of R&D services provided by IRT Jules Verne
Automating the quality control of acoustic panels using artificial intelligence
For Airbus Atlantic, IRT Jules Verne has developed an automated visual inspection solution combining non-destructive testing and artificial intelligence to detect cosmetic defects in air inlet parts.
Read the case study
Developing a robotic welding strategy for the nuclear sector
For Framatome, IRT Jules Verne mobilized its robotics and metal processes teams to evaluate the robotic WAAM technology for stainless steel hardfacing, combined with 3D scanning detection.
Read the case study
Industrializing a compact and mobile C-arm for interventional imaging
Allia™ Moveo illustrates the transition from an applied research challenge to a medical platform for the global market, thanks to a large-diameter, mobile composite C-arm with no visible cables.
Read the case study
Other opportunities for collaboration with IRT Jules Verne
- 01 Collaborative projects Work together to develop and carry out collaborative R&D projects in the manufacturing sector. Our offer
- 02 Training Train your teams in the manufacturing technologies of the future. Our offer
- 03 French calls for proposal Take part in national calls for proposals alongside IRT Jules Verne. Our offer
- 04 European calls for proposal Join European consortia working in the industry of the future. Our offer