Pilot Plant of CIM UPC
The entity once again contributes its know-how in R&D&I, as a leader in 3D Printing in the Automotive sector, significantly reducing storage costs, with substantial savings in the environmental impact of part manufacturing.
Barcelona, July 14, 2025 — The Centre CIM Foundation, also known as CIM UPC, an entity affiliated with the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech (UPC), is successfully developing a new collaborative R&D&I project for SEAT S.A., specifically focused on spare parts supply, as part of its metal 3D printing research line.
The SPAR3D project addresses the challenges associated with the current storage of automotive spare parts, in line with Spain’s Royal Decree-Law 7/2021, which requires automotive manufacturers to ensure the availability of spare parts for their products for 10 years. Storing these parts has resulted in significant costs for manufacturers, as well as a considerable increase in logistics expenses (particularly for those with extensive product catalogs), technical support, and customer service operations.
The solution provided by CIM UPC explores, together with other research centers and companies, the problem in non-critical parts, with the goal of achieving significant benefits in logistical simplification and improved customer service for the automotive company, as well as notable savings in environmental impact. To this end, the research focuses on additive manufacturing or 3D printing, a technology in which CIM UPC is a pioneer and has recently strengthened in everything related to the new great challenge: printing in metal.
The project SPAR3D (CPP2022-009865) is funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the European Union NextGenerationEU / PRTR, and within the consortium led by SEAT S.A., CIM UPC has been responsible for technologies related to extrusion-based additive manufacturing (the most competitive in industrial environments), as well as recent technologies developed in Spain around the concept of laser melting of metal filament. The project has also explored the creation of rapidly produced, single-use 3D-printed molds to obtain spare parts in already certified materials, an approach that could have a significant impact in the future.
As in most projects carried out by CIM UPC, research with a vision for useful industrial end results has represented a before and after in spare parts supply and has once again granted the foundation excellence in results and a leading position in the latest technological advances.
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, THE LEVER FOR INDUSTRIALIZATION
Per al Dr. José Mª Cabrera, Director General de CIM UPC, “la Fabricació Additiva és avui dia la palanca de la industrialització en el món del metall. Ens trobem en l’etapa del Coneixement, però és una tecnologia que ha arribat per quedar-se perquè en sèries curtes presenta un gran valor afegit. Aquesta tecnologia està disponible i és econòmicament assequible també per a les PIMES. Caldrà augmentar el nivell tecnològic de l’empresa, però no s’ha d’arribar tard.” “En el sector de l’Automoció – continua – pretenem oferir, principalment, aquells avantatges i beneficis requerits per les nostres empreses clients, entre els quals sempre hi ha l’estalvi de costos, a través de la nostra darrera tecnologia, que també és la del sector.”
MORE THAN 14 PROJECTS PER YEAR AND A TEAM OF 15 PEOPLE DEDICATED TO RESEARCH
CIM UPC develops collaborative R&D&I projects through competitive research support frameworks, both nationally and internationally. As such, CIM UPC plays an active role in European, national, and regional research programs and clusters as a means to achieve excellence and stay at the forefront of technological advancements.
The entity focuses its basic and applied research activities (up to TRLs that make the creation of a start-up feasible) and development on production and ICT technologies. Its specialists enable integral project approaches, developing new manufacturing processes and product designs, thus facilitating access to industrial research environments.
The main lines of research are:
- Metal 3D Printing: research and development of new materials, new metal 3D printing processes, and new procedures for characterization and validation of printed components.
- 3D Printing for Health: services including the manufacture of pre-surgical models and prosthesis printing, 3D bioprinting of tissues, and the design and development of customized 3D printing machinery.
- Concrete 3D Printing: developing new techniques and large-scale 3D printing processes for ceramic materials to construct buildings or prefabricated housing.
- Hybrid 3D Printing: developing equipment that combines technologies of different natures, enabling production processes never before applied, such as multimaterial extrusion, allowing a wide variety of additive manufacturing technologies to be combined.
Currently, a total of 40 people are part of CIM UPC’s staff, with 15 employees dedicated to the R&D&I area and forecasts to double this area by 2026. Its more than 14 annual projects with companies, growing for this 2025, are part of its 3–4 year Strategic Plan, which also foresees doubling its turnover.
ABOUT CIM UPC
Leading in 3D printing, CIM UPC’s mission is to transfer engineering and technology management knowledge, as well as to provide companies and professionals with tools to create and improve their products and manufacturing processes. Committed to society and industry, CIM UPC serves its environment by advancing digital manufacturing and production technologies through training, technology transfer, and research. In doing so, it brings the business reality closer to the university and helps the industrial fabric achieve maximum technological competitiveness.
Since its inception, CIM UPC has been characterized by the versatility of its activities. Some of the most relevant include:
- Pilot Plant, with a production service for tailor-made prototypes and pre-series manufactured through 3D printing and advanced machining, as well as different laboratories for various tests with innovative Direct Ink Writing printers and other technologies for industrial projects, especially for producing metal parts
- Design and production of customized Advanced Manufacturing equipment, enabling new production processes based on 3D printing.
- Open innovation. National and international research projects, individual or collaborative (such as those by the XaRFA network – the Catalonia Reference Network in Additive Manufacturing) and European projects with international partners.
- Design, manufacture, and sale of desktop 3D printers for professionals and companies (different models derived from its spin-offs BCN3D and ARIDDITIVE).
CIM UPC was founded in 1990 and became a foundation of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech (UPC) in 2005. Since then, and now celebrating its 35th Anniversary, the entity also collaborates with other technological and/or university research centers and leads the aforementioned XaRFA network, focused on advanced manufacturing. Finally, it develops innovative technological proposals and strengthens applied research infrastructures to carry out projects in various technological fields.
Automotive Spare Parts – Fused Granulate Fabrication (FGF)