The desire to take up the challenge of developing alternative structural solutions led to the creation of the EC3D project in 2009. It first found support from Normandie Incubation with the EP2I program at the end of 2010.
GANIL (Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds) welcomed us to its site during 2011 so that we could begin the incubation of our project. This allowed for a continuous ramp-up, accompanied by a strengthening of intellectual property, and constant technical and technological developments.
During this period, the Engineering Composite 3D project was supported by the Lower Normandy region and the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, where it won the "Creation of Innovative Technology Companies" competition in 2011, in the Emergence category.
We initially focused on developing multidirectionally woven 3D structures, which allowed us to strengthen and develop our knowledge of ultralight fibrous preforms, their manufacturing process, and the devices needed to make such structures, whether they are based on glass, aramid, or carbon fibers.
Honeycomb materials and their specific properties have also been a major focus of research and development over the past few years. We have strived to understand the inherent mechanisms of these structures. We have explored all the manufacturing methods for these materials, whether they are made from thin or thicker metal strips, from meta- or para-aramid paper, or from carbon fibers bonded to various types of matrices, such as epoxy, phenolic resin, or cyanate ester.
Building on this work, which has allowed us a multi-material and multi-process approach to developing these structures, we are now able to offer advanced concepts and solutions in terms of mechanical properties compared to existing ones, and we hope to see these structures produced and used in the coming years.
Experts in the field
of core materials
Our company focuses on the research and development of next-generation three-dimensional structures intended for use as core materials. Our unique approach of concentrating research efforts on the architectures and topologies to be employed allows us to overcome any material limitations and to apply these concepts across a wide range of applications.
The concept of the envisaged products and services offered is twofold :
On the one hand, we offer the transfer of technological concepts based on those developed internally; we offer solutions aimed at lightening sandwich structures without sacrificing performance. They all offer an improvement in mechanical characteristics compared to existing solutions, thereby allowing material and weight savings for the end customer, while maintaining minimum strength requirements.
On the other hand, we develop and refine customized concepts through research and development services, as well as support for technology transfer. The goal is to optimally integrate the products into the relevant sector, taking into account the base materials used by the client.