The Core Facilities at Mines Saint-Étienne provide research and experimental environments dedicated to process development, prototype development, and solution validation. They support scientific production, training through research (projects, internships, PhDs), and collaborations with academic and industrial partners.
Designed as shared resources, these facilities combine equipment, expertise, and support (methods, protocols, measurement quality, safety) to guarantee reliable and actionable results.
Why technological platforms?
A core facility meets a simple need: transforming a scientific question or an industrial requirement into evidence (measurements, tests, prototypes, demonstrations) and transferable solutions.
Depending on the project, core facilities notably enable:
- the development (prototyping, instrumentation, iteration);
- the testing and validations (mechanical, biomechanical, functional, thermal);
- the industrialization and transfer (demonstrators, advancing maturity);
- observation and analysis related to processes (imaging, signals, experimental data).
Please note: material characterization activities (surfaces, microstructures, physico-chemistry) and computing/simulation and data infrastructures fall under characterization facilities and digital facilities respectively, which are presented in dedicated sections.
Explore our core facilities
Prototyping, Manufacturing, Developing
Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) Additive Manufacturing
Metal 3D Printing: Optimizing density, precision, and “as-built” surface finish.
Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM)
Large-scale metal additive manufacturing: full-scale prototypes and transfer.
Model Alloy Fabrication (Fab-Al)
Develop alloys with controlled composition and apply thermomechanical treatments.
Model Materials and Structures
Studies on “reference” materials/structures to analyze and understand mechanisms.
IT’m Factory
Design, engineering, and manufacturing focused on usage and performance.
Intelligent, Design – Fabrication
Design, engineering, and manufacturing focused on usage and performance.
Maq’IT
Robotic and IoT prototyping: scenarios, demonstrators, and model-based experimentation.
Measure, Characterize, Qualify (materials, surfaces, microstructures)
X-ray Diffraction (XRD)
Identification of phases, stresses, and textures: DRX, grazing incidence, SAXS.
Mechanical Testing and Instrumentation
Testing and instrumentation to qualify behaviors and validate models.
TriboCorrosion / Orthopedic Implants
Tribological and corrosion studies, particularly in the context of implants.
Health, Biomaterials, Biomechanics
Virtual Hospital
Digital environment dedicated to the simulation of care pathways, organizational experimentation, and scenario evaluation, serving healthcare and hospital innovation.
Biomechanics Testing Platform
Biomechanics testing and measurements to understand, validate, compare.
Biomaterials and Inhaled Particles
Studies and characterizations addressing health/environment challenges.
Microelectronics, Bioelectronics, Physical Chemistry
Organic Bioelectronics and Biology Facility
Biology/electronics interfaces, organic materials and devices.
Gas and Particle Sensors
Develop and qualify sensors for measuring gases, particles, and environments.
Processes, Energy, Environment, Territories
Territory
Tools and approaches to analyze, model, and support territorial dynamics.
Mineral Crystallization and Powder Technology (Halle)
Powder processes and crystallization: material development, processing, and optimization.