The terms you will meet when talking about robotic 3D printing, composite materials and Nugæ technology, explained in plain words with a link to where you can see them applied.
Ultra-Light Large Format Additive Manufacturing: Nugæ's method for printing large parts as thin, continuous walls stiffened by hollow ribs instead of solid infill. The result is a part that is 80% lighter than conventional large-format prints and ready to be laminated.
Read the FAQ ›3D printing of objects from about one metre up to several metres, usually with a robot or gantry and a pellet-fed extruder. Used for moulds, boat parts, furniture and architectural elements.
See the portfolio ›Building an object layer by layer from a digital model, adding material only where it is needed. The opposite of subtractive processes such as milling, and an alternative to mould-based composite lamination.
News & insights ›The print head that melts plastic granules (pellets) with a screw and deposits the molten bead. Pellets cost a fraction of filament and allow industrial materials such as glass- or carbon-filled polymers. Nugæ's patented extruder weighs 17 kg and prints in any orientation.
Patented technology ›Tubular stiffeners printed together with the panel as one continuous line, forming a grid that gives the part its rigidity at minimal weight. Their cavities can house composite sleeves, cables or ducts. Protected by Nugæ's patent on load-bearing shell and plate structures.
The study with Politecnico di Milano ›Nugæ's ultra-light core material: a corrugated structure made from recycled polypropylene, with an apparent density of around 100–160 kg/m³, that can be machined like wood and bonds with resins. The printed part becomes the core of a glass- or carbon-fibre sandwich.
Case study: catamaran seat ›A composite panel made of two thin, strong skins (glass or carbon fibre) bonded to a light core (balsa, foam, or a 3D-printed core). The core keeps the skins apart, which multiplies stiffness at little extra weight.
Printed core vs balsa: the test data ›Applying layers of fibre fabric and resin on a surface, then compacting them under a vacuum bag while the resin cures. Nugæ's printed parts are designed to be laminated directly, inside or outside, without a mould.
Case study: laminated keel ›Materials made of reinforcing fibres (glass = GFRP, carbon = CFRP) in a polymer matrix. In boatbuilding they are traditionally laminated in moulds; with UL-LFAM the printed part replaces the mould or becomes the core.
Materials in the FAQ ›Polymers that melt when heated and solidify when cooled, so they can be extruded and recycled: polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), polyamide (PA). Often reinforced with glass or carbon fibre for stiffness and dimensional stability in the marine environment.
Which materials we use ›The tooling of composite boatbuilding: a pattern (plug) is the positive shape, the mould is its negative, and the part is laminated inside the mould. Each one-off part needs its own tooling, which is what large-format 3D printing removes or prints directly.
Case study: 3D-printed mould ›A rigid roof over the cockpit or helm of a boat, as opposed to a canvas bimini. Custom hardtops are usually moulded in fibreglass; Nugæ prints them in sections and laminates them, with no mould.
Case study: 55' hardtop ›A single custom part or boat, built once. With traditional tooling it carries the full cost of pattern and mould; with UL-LFAM it costs no more per unit than a small series.
Case study: one-off catamaran ›Turning a 3D model into the path the extruder will follow, layer by layer. NU-Slice is Nugæ's proprietary software: it generates the hollow ribs and a single continuous deposition line, then exports the robot program.
Our system ›Nugæ's modular production unit: robot, pellet extruder, drying and feeding system and software, installed at a shipyard or partner to print large parts on site.
NU-Hub in the FAQ ›The weight of a printed structure divided by the volume it occupies, voids included. A CoreLight3D® module at about 100 kg/m³ versus 300 kg/m³ for solid material means the same shape weighs one third.
Case study: 70 kg living module ›A term you did not find, or a part to make? Ask us.
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