SIGMA Clermont

SIGMA Clermont is an engineering school created in 2016 from the merger of IFMA (1990) and ENSCCF (1908). It awards three accredited engineering degrees with different specializations: "Chemistry" and "Advanced Mechanics" in initial training, and "Mechanics and Industrial Engineering" through apprenticeships. The school trains around 300 graduates a year, with a total of 915 engineering students, including 100 in preparatory cycle. It also has 3 research laboratories and 90 PhD students, supervised by 60 teacher-researchers.

The teaching of CAD/CAM (Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing) is an important part of the mechanical engineering curriculum. The aim is to provide students with a methodology for use (such as skeleton design), a global vision of applications and an effective mastery of the tool. Thierry Rabany, associate professor at SIGMA Clermont, has been running these courses for over 20 years. Initially based on CATIA V5, then CATIA V6, courses are now taught on 3DEXPERIENCE platform, thanks to the support of Emmanuel Duc, Bruno Astruc and Jérôme Couden.

In the first year, courses begin with an introduction to 3D design on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform: part design, assembly, drawing, etc. This is a key step for students to get acquainted with the solution, enabling them to then apply what they’ve learnt during their first-year project.

In the second year, the focus is on RMS (Resilient Modeling Strategy), surface modeling, data management and PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) project management. A mini-project for groups of 6 students enables them to implement CAD/CAM and PLM tools in a collaborative situation, and reinforces their technical skills.

Finally, in the third year, students are encouraged to use the full complexity of the CAD/CAM software on their own within the framework of their project, and according to their subject and needs.

In addition to the traditional curriculum, there are a wide range of other 3DEXPERIENCE-related activities to stimulate the students' interest and give them a taste for challenge, collaboration... and innovation!

First of all, at the beginning of the year, teachers and the school's IT department would prepare all the dashboards, user groups and communities on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to facilitate the work of students. These different features allow multidisciplinary teaching and collaborative work among students, who will be required to replicate these methods tomorrow in the world of work. Each student receives a license, a personal space and several collaborative spaces depending on the educational projects they have been assigned.

In the first year, students are taking part in mini-challenges involving systems engineering, CAD (Computer Aided Design) and PLM, as well as control applications (Arduino boards).

Numerous teaching activities are also developed in conjunction with industrial partners as part of second or third year projects, to give students a foretaste of their professional lives!

Thanks to the staff’s commitment and the quality of their teaching, SIGMA aims to train responsible engineers, whose interpersonal skills can harmoniously enrich knowledge and know-how, and whose international ability and scientific expertise enable to adapt to the changing world of industry… making them fully future-ready!