Let’s meet the makers at the Nantes Maker Campus 2021

What a great edition! 2 years after the previous one, expectations and hopes were at their peak, so this event celebrating makers in Nantes was exceptional and we are particularly happy to have participated alongside a large audience. What have we learned, what do we want to relive in these lines with you?

300 makers and many artists were present at this edition, but the unmissable stars of the event were once again the teams from Compagnie La Machine, who presented the Great Heron exclusively (we will come back to this later). Alongside them, as a symbol of the history and universalism of the city of Nantes, African makers highlighted the development of the Nantes Kinshasa (DRC) axis while Belgium presented a world creation with the Carrousel automatas by Geert Hautekiet.

The festivities were in full swing and it was obvious for us to be both stakeholder and partner with SOLIDWORKS and Visiativ under the banner of Dassault Systèmes.

But we also had our favorites during this Maker Campus. And it was certainly our childhood dreams that dictated our choices. This ability to marvel at the incredible power of invention of human beings, of their taste for what seems impossible at first glance, and which later makes us shiver with pleasure. Two strong initiatives among the hundreds thus caught our attention:

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An articulated flower to detect the level of CO2

Our high school students have talent! We welcomed the winners of the national final of the 12th Engineering Sciences Olympiad on our stand. Mathieu HUGO, Ruben DAMTI and Alexis LAPEYRE, students of 1st SI specialization of the Richelieu high school in RUEIL-MALMAISON have indeed won the 1st prize of the competition thanks to their Zéphyr project.

To reduce the risks associated with COVID in schools, monitoring the level of CO2 is an important part. The Zéphyr project responds to this with a mechanical flower incorporating an NDIR CO2 sensor which folds up according to the quality of the air and thus indicates that the room must be ventilated. The flower has also been fully 3D printed. This project was designed with SOLIDWORKS to be arranged in nursery and primary classes.

EKLO, the capsule for observing plant life in space

EKLO: an association that takes us into space. The idea germinated in the minds of some CNES researchers in order to make students aware of life in space. Offer to astronauts whose senses are disturbed during their journey in space (and particularly during long journeys like those of Thomas Pesquet in the International Space Station) to observe plant life on a piece of land, was selected among all the projects.

EKLO has thus developed a prototype capsule in which the plant world could be observed in space but also to allow Thomas to cultivate and garden the earth 400 kms in orbit above the blue planet. A formidable adventure led by teams of enthusiasts and which will undoubtedly see pretty flowers blooming up there in the starry sky.

Learn more about EKLO: https://eklo.space/index.html

Apps for Kids, become a genius from an early age

SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids on the Dassault Systèmes stand, where the word given to children under 14, is an absolute favorite. How to become a creative genius from an early age? We have lived intense moments with the youngest, noting with what desire and how easily they are able to get started with digital 3D design tools. It was an extraordinary experience, which confirms our vision of a better world, made possible by imagination and innovation at the service of humanity.

If you want to introduce the App to your children, it’s still possible and it’s here 👉🏼 www.swappsforkids.com

We will come back to the involvement of our teams in education in a future article.

The Great Blue Heron, an extraordinary futuristic animal

But let’s go back for a moment to the Great Blue Heron, this futuristic animal, this extraordinary machine, which proved to be as fascinating as the emblematic elephant, yet the undisputed star of this spectacular event. The great blue heron was developed in particular through SOLIDWORKS simulation and design tools and on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Its dimensions are impressive: 16.5 meters wingspan – 35 tons with audience, arms and counterweight. It takes 18 passengers in the nacelles under its wings and on its back. The Heron is alive, like the Great Elephant and all the creatures built by The Machine.

The studies of the Great Heron were carried out over 18 months and its construction began in September 2020 in the workshop of Compagnie La Machine. Building a heron on the scale of the Tree imposed many constraints, and particularly its installation at a height of 32 meters. So imagine the impact of such a (giant) bird on the crowd of visitors! Imagine their looks during the flight tests of this unique machine!

Naturally, the solutions offered by SOLIDWORKS address and meet the needs of makers, those passionate about prototypes, invention, the craziest projects, who explore our imagination and transform it into insane and yet real achievements.

Encounters and exchanges with this bubbling world are always extraordinary. The stories that we keep in mind are unforgettable and like the children of Jules Verne (born in Nantes in 1828), we are dazzled for a long time by this future that we can see and sometimes touch with our hands. This is why we had planned activities, meeting points to listen, to answer questions from the youngest creators as well as markers of all ages. Showing them how our collaborative platforms can contribute to the design, to the production of all innovative projects, was our primary ambition and our constant motivation during this event.

To all, FabLab, Start-Up, and other genius creators, we have proposed a free certification for SOLIDWORKS CSWA (July 3 and 4 – 40 candidates have been selected). Our commitment to educating audiences in the use of 3D design as well as the 3DEXPERIENCE and SOLIDWORKS digital platforms is essential in our daily mission. We were keen to translate it into a festive and formidably creative setting.

To learn more about our special offer for Makers, go here 👉🏼 https://www.solidworks.com/makers

It was undoubtedly an exceptional trip this year to Nantes and the teams from Dassault Systèmes, SOLIDWORKS and Visiativ Solutions look forward to seeing you at the next edition, in 2022.