Tech start-up Moi Composites displayed the first 3D printed powerboat in continuous fibreglass thermoset material at the Genoa Boat Show last month.
Spanning 6.5m by 2.5m, MAMBO (Motor Additive Manufacturing Boat) weighs approximately 800kg and has a navigation system and 115cv engine.
The various sections were printed using two KUKA Quantec High Accuracy robots in Milan, at Moi Composites’ headquarters, and in Autodesk’s Advanced Manufacturing Facility in Birmingham, here in the UK.
The printed pieces were then joined and laminated at Italy’s Catmarine shipyard, creating a one-piece sandwich structure, without hull-deck division.
Continuous Fibre Manufacturing makes products strong, ultra-durable and lightweight. Moi Composites believes its 3D technology will make once-unlikely concepts, like MAMBO, a more common reality: “The creativity of many designers is suppressed due to technological, geometric limits or production costs. There are countless noteworthy projects destined to remain magnificent renderings forever. However, with CFM technology, these designs can become real.”
There are no plans to put this vessel into production, but 3D printing is being utilised on a growing scale within the marine, maritime and naval sectors, and has seen significant investment over the last couple of years.
