At the Genoa Boat Show we saw not only “classic” market novelties, but also a very brave Italian boat: Mambo, the world’s first 3D printed fiberglass boat. Already from the lines it is clear that this boat wants to strike, as Gabriele Natale, CEO of Moi Composites, a spin-off of the Milan Polytechnic, also confirms. “These lines are a provocation. With Mambo we want to make it clear that an owner can ask us for virtually any shape for his boat. And we can make it, without molds or models.”
Mambo is the world’s first 3D printed fiberglass boat . And it’s Italian!
But what kind of boat is Mambo? The hull is an inverted tricycle inspired by Sonny Levi’s famous Archdevil. With a length of 6.5 meters, maximum beam of 2.5 meters, weighs 800 kilograms, and is powered by a 115-hp outboard from Mercury. A cork deck and white leather sofas were chosen as deck elements.
Mambo was made with a patented 3D printing technology called Continuous Fiber Manufacturing (CFM). This system sets in motion robots that, thanks to special algorithms, enable 3D printing of composite materials in a way that has hitherto been difficult to imagine.
Watch the full interview with Gabriele Natale, CEO of Moi Composites, here.
How was the Mambo boat 3D printed?
In detail, this technology makes it possible to use machines that deposit continuous fibers impregnated with cross-linkable resin to create objects, in this case boats. Everything starts from what? From a simple digital drawing without the need for templates and molds. After working out the design, the various sections were printed using two KUKA Quantec High Accuracy robots. Once printing was completed, the pieces were joined and laminated in the Catmarine shipyard, creating a one-piece sandwich structure with no hull-deck division.
Gregorio Ferrari
