SCAIRA Entrepreneur: Alessandro Innocenti (Digital Shape Engineering)

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Meet Alessandro Innocenti, selected in the third call with his project Digital Shape Engineering.

Tell us briefly about yourself and your background!

I am Alessandro Innocenti, an industrial mechanical engineer with a Master’s degree in Computational Mechanical Design. My professional career has focused primarily on mechanical design and product development, and I have worked as an industrial designer, junior engineer and researcher at the University of Cádiz, in the field of materials for additive manufacturing. My areas of expertise include finite element simulation, structural optimisation techniques, reverse engineering using 3D scanners, and the digital reconstruction of components.

Together with my colleagues Luis Segovia and David Sales, I decided to found Digital Shape Engineering after identifying a critical gap between the innovation capabilities in design and manufacturing available within research centres and the actual technical needs of industry. Through our project, we propose an alternative to existing solutions, enabling companies to innovate in the fields of design and manufacturing without the need for significant investment.

How did you find out about SCAIRA?

I learned about SCAIRA through a recommendation from the staff at UCA Emprende, an initiative of the University of Cádiz that has been supporting and advising us during the early stages of the project.

What stage is your start-up currently at?

The idea was developed and implemented on several occasions within an industrial context as a service provided by the University of Cádiz. This allowed us to assess its feasibility and its relevance within the current industrial landscape. Now that we have decided to establish a university-based technology company at the University of Cádiz with this objective, we are in the process of incorporation and ready to begin offering these services.

What is the nature of your project, and what problem does it aim to solve?

We are a technology-based company providing engineering services for industry, structuring our offering around three major complementary and independent service lines:

  • 3D design and digitisation, focused on geometric capture, reverse engineering and the generation of digital models.
  • Simulation, aimed at structural, thermal and functional analysis for optimisation and the reduction of technical risks.
  • Prototyping and manufacturing, using additive manufacturing technologies, as well as precision machining and conventional manufacturing techniques, complemented by collaborations with specialised suppliers.

 

Our project was created with the mission of democratising access to advanced technologies, enabling companies and institutions of any size to enhance their innovation capacity, reduce technical risks and accelerate product development without the need for significant investment in infrastructure or highly specialised personnel. In the coming years, we see ourselves as a leading technological partner for innovation within the industrial fabric of the province of Cádiz.

Which SCAIRA services have you chosen?

Service 4: Opportunities for national public funding for start-ups and green innovations.
Services 6 and 7: Proof of Concept (PoC) and Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
Service 10: Marketing and communication.
Services 13 and 14: Preparation of the pitch for presentation to industry and investors, registration on LOOM, and organisation of B2B meetings between start-ups and industrial companies, as well as B2F meetings between start-ups and investors.

What are your short-term objectives during the acceleration programme?

The objective is to strengthen our company’s positioning and gain traction by making use of the tools developed during the project to secure funding and public support, as well as to identify new projects and clients. To this end, improving our marketing capabilities and the way we present our company to potential clients and investors will also be of great importance.

Who is your target market and what customer need are you addressing?

Our target market consists of companies and institutions facing complex challenges in their design, production or maintenance cycles and that are unable to find effective solutions through traditional engineering methods. By acting as an external technological partner, we facilitate access to advanced innovation tools such as multiphysics simulation and 3D digitisation, without requiring significant investment in assets or the recruitment of highly specialised personnel. In this way, organisations can implement cutting-edge technical solutions that would otherwise remain beyond their operational and financial reach.

These general needs translate into very specific technical requirements within today’s industrial landscape, particularly in sectors such as aerospace, automotive, manufacturing, naval and chemical industries:

  • Obsolescence management: digital reconstruction through reverse engineering of critical, worn or discontinued components for which original drawings are unavailable, ensuring operational continuity.
  • Structural validation and simulation: use of FEM/CFD tools to verify the behaviour of components and systems prior to manufacturing, significantly reducing the costs and time associated with physical prototyping.
  • Integrated product development: full-cycle design, optimisation and prototyping for companies without in-house engineering departments that need to develop an idea from scratch with technical reliability.
  • Optimisation for sustainability: redesign and lightweighting of structural components to improve material efficiency.
  • Digitalisation and digital twins: creation of virtual replicas of industrial assets for real-time monitoring and the development of predictive maintenance strategies that minimise unplanned production downtime.

What challenges do you identify today?

Our main challenges at this stage include limited visibility, the lack of demonstrator cases, and the need to secure industrial projects and clients that will allow us to definitively validate both our business concept and the proposed organisational model.

Do you already have a team?

Yes. The Digital Shape Engineering team also includes Luis Segovia, a physicist and materials engineer. He bridges the gap with the physical world (materials, additive manufacturing and WAAM technology). As a lecturer and PhD holder at the University of Cádiz (UCA) in manufacturing processes, he provides the practical expertise required to turn digital designs into tangible solutions.

The team also includes David Sales, a chemical engineer and PhD in Materials Science. He is a senior lecturer at the University of Cádiz and has extensive experience in applied research and technology transfer. A specialist in advanced materials, additive manufacturing and circular economy, he is co-author of patents and more than 40 scientific publications. David Sales contributes strategic vision in R&D&I, access to scientific–industrial networks, and the development of technological partnerships to support the growth of Digital Shape Engineering.

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