Emmanuel Vilmin, my father, started developing Shape3d in 1993 while we were shaping our first windsurfs in our apartment in Paris. Emmanuel is a computer engineer who originally studied mathematical statistics. At this time I was in high school, and windsurfing was really our passion. Shape3d was originally a backyard shaping software. After a few years he started selling it on the Internet. Soon he was contacted by CNC machine builders, and Shape3d turned into a real CAD-CAM software, completely dedicated to surfboard and windsurf design.
After I finished my PhD in fluid physics in 2006, I quitted research and started working with my father on Shape3d. Emmanuel is now half retired, but he keeps a eye on it...
Shape3d has evolved a lot through the past 20 years, and we still have ideas in stock!
Shape3d is more than a family business, it's a passion that goes through generations (my son Gilles will soon be ready!).