MAMBO 3D Printed Boat Made with Continuous Fiberglass Thermoset Material
Moi Composites is a start-up 3D printing company using robots and advanced composite materials to create powerful products. To create MAMBO (Motor Additive Manufacturing BOat), Moi’s team worked with expert partners in automation, composites, and the marine industry and utilized their own patented scalable 3D printing technology, Continuous Fiber Manufacturing (CFM).
MAMBO’s unique shape, similar to an inverted tricycle, was digitally crafted in Moi’s CFM by machines depositing continuous fibers impregnated with thermosetting resin, creating fiber-reinforced products with mechanical characteristics that meet or exceed the characteristics of unidirectional fiberglass which is traditionally used in marine manufacturing. Bypassing the need for molds and other tooling, time and money are saved using the CFM process.
Sections of MAMBO were printed using two KUKA Quantec High Accuracy robots in Italy and at Autodesk’s Advanced Manufacturing Facility in the UK, then shipped to the Catmarine shipyard where they were joined and laminated into a one-piece sandwich structure.
MAMBO is 6.5 meters long and 2.5 meters wide, has a dry weight of 800 kg, and is equipped with a real navigation system and a 115 hp engine.
Of the MAMBO project, Gabriele Natale, CEO & co-founder of Moi Composites, explained, “We participated in the Genoa boat show in 2017, and it was during this event that we came up with the idea of making MAMBO. We saw the project take shape first, then brought it to life, and finally, MAMBO arrived today at the sea. We have 3D printed a boat, enhancing the concept of customization with a one-of-a-kind design created and tailored from the owner’s mind, to give everyone the opportunity to understand and experience the sea in their own way. All this would not have happened without the support of our partners, who believed with us in this ambitious project.”
MAMBO is debuting at the 2020 Genova Boat Show in early October.
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