Research and publications
Our technology is measured, published and peer reviewed.
Is a 3D-printed part really an alternative to a laminated composite? We prefer to let the data answer. Here we collect the scientific articles authored by NUGAE, the research carried out with leading Italian universities, research centres and institutes, and the work of other authors who cite our method. Wherever possible the texts are open access.
NUGAE publications
Articles and papers with NUGAE authors.
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Combining Lightness and Stiffness through Composite-Reinforced Additive Manufacturing in the Yacht Industry: Case Study Analysis and Application on Large Functional Components
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (MDPI), 2024, 12(6), 918
The peer-reviewed article that describes the NUGAE method: anthropomorphic robot, pellet extruder, thin walls with no infill and patented hollow ribs generated by our software. Printed panels laminated in glass were bend-tested against a balsa sandwich: the same stiffness with about 10% less weight and a progressive rather than sudden failure. Two real cases complete the study: a RIB windscreen that did 150 hours at sea and a hard top for a 13 m RIB built with no mould.
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Leveraging Additive Manufacturing for Lightweight, Multifunctional Maritime Components: A Case Study Analysis
Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Technologies (SpliTech 2024), Bol and Split, Croatia, 25-28 June 2024, pp. 1-5
The first report on the NEMO case study: the multifunctional seating unit (sofa and kitchen cabinet) of the wallywhy100, a 21.5 m yacht by the Wally shipyard, printed by NUGAE in carbon-fibre polycarbonate with hollow ribs reinforced inside by pre-impregnated carbon sleeves. Compared with hand lay-up: 15 hours of digital preparation and 47 hours of continuous printing against three days of shifts and eleven working days overall, a raw prototype of 51.5 kg against 84.9 kg for the traditional part, and no mould. The prototype was shown at JEC World 2024.
Research with Politecnico di Milano
Publications from the NEMO and CYClaDEs projects in which NUGAE technology is the case study.
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Flexible Customization of Large-Scale Yacht Components through a Design-Driven Approach
diid, disegno industriale industrial design, Digital Special Issue 3 "Design and Innovation for Made in Italy", 2026, pp. 262-277
The results of the NEMO and CYClaDEs projects of Politecnico di Milano, in which NUGAE is the technology partner. The case study is a 3 m long L-shaped multifunctional unit (seating and bar cabinet) for the wallywhy100, a 21.5 m yacht by the Wally shipyard, printed with the NUGAE system in carbon-fibre reinforced polycarbonate with hollow ribs, then reinforced and finished. Compared with manual lamination in a mould: weight down from 209 to 114 kg (about 45% less), cost about 27% lower, 72 hours of unattended printing and no mould to build or dispose of.
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Designing Yachts in the Digital Era
FrancoAngeli, collana Design International, Milano, ISBN 9788835183884
A map of the digital technologies changing yacht design. NUGAE appears among the manufacturing cases, with the large-format robotic printing system and the five-section stern hatch for a 13 m sailing yacht, and in the chapter on the NEMO project with the hollow-rib multifunctional component.
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Design for Customization
FrancoAngeli, collana Design International, Milano, ISBN 9788835185673
From mass production to flexible customisation with 3D printing, computational design and generative AI. The yacht chapter describes the workflow with printed hollow ribs and internal composite reinforcement, from geometry to robot code, and the NEMO case study printed by NUGAE.
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Additive Manufacturing in the Maritime Industry: Impact on Production Processes, Workers, and End-Users
AHFE International, vol. 146, 15th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2024)
What changes for shipyard workers when plugs and moulds disappear: new digital skills, less manual labour, a potentially safer workplace, and customised components designed around the people who use them.
The research projects
NEMO, Design 4 Yacht Flexible Customization and CYClaDEs, Circular Yacht Customization through Design and new business models Experimentations are two projects of the Department of Design of Politecnico di Milano, funded by the Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan within the MICS extended partnership (Made in Italy Circular and Sustainable), Spoke 2. They explore flexible, circular customisation of yacht components by combining composite-reinforced large-format 3D printing with computational design. NUGAE is the technology partner: it prints the case-study components with its own robotic system and patented hollow ribs.
The projects produced the prototype shown at the Genoa Boat Show 2024 and the structural seat in CoreLight3D® presented at JEC World 2026.
Who cites our research
Work by other research groups that cites the NUGAE study in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering.
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Toward Scalable and Sustainable Manufacturing Solutions: A Review of Large-Format Additive Manufacturing for Marine Applications with Recommended Methods and Materials
Applied Ocean Research (Elsevier), 2026, vol. 173, 105122
A review of large-format additive manufacturing for marine applications, with recommended methods and materials. It cites our JMSE study among its references.
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Integrating Artificial Intelligence and Composite Additive Manufacturing in Yacht Design: An Explorative Study
Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering (Springer), 2026, pp. 585-592
An exploratory study on the use of artificial intelligence in the design of printed composite yacht components. It cites our JMSE study.
To receive a copy of an article that is not open access, or the test data, write to us.