to design 21st century yachts - SuperyachtDesign

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THE MANUFACTURER
FABBRI FIORE
fabbri fiore is a precision engineering company based in lucca, italy,
tHat works closely witH several boatyards, including perini navi for
its captive wincHes and rig actuating systems. tHe firm utilises sls as
a fast and cost-effective way of producing scale models of yacHts,
but is also looking at substituting macHined components using tHe
same tecHnique.
“LASER SINTERING ALLOWS US TO CONSTRUCT ANY SHAPE EFFICIENTLY AND FLEX-
IBLY, WITHOUT THE USE OF OTHER MACHINERY, WITH HIGH MECHANICAL AND DE-
SIGN CHARACTERISTICS USING ONLY CAD 3D DATA,” SAYS COMPANY OWNER AND
FOUNDER GIOVANNI LENCIONI. “IN CONTRAST TO OTHER TYPES OF 3D PRINTING
SUITABLE ONLY FOR SINGLE PROTOTYPES, THE MACHINE WE USE ALLOWS THE CRE-
ATION OF MANY PARTS DURING THE SAME WORK CYCLE, SO ITS COMPETITIVE IN
TERMS OF PRODUCTION COST AND TIME.”
DURING THE SEATEC EXHIBITION IN CARRARA LAST FEBRUARY, FABBRI FIORE DIS-
PLAYED EXAMPLES OF SLS PRODUCTS (INCLUDING A HANDBAG CONSTRUCTED EN-
TIRELY FROM TINY, INTERLINKED POLYAMIDE RINGS THAT HAS BEEN PRESENTED TO
FERRAGAMO AS A PRODUCT CONCEPT). BY MIXING THE POLYAMIDE WITH OTHER IN-
GREDIENTS, THESE PRODUCTS ARE SUITABLE FOR A WIDE RANGE OF APPLICATIONS.
FINE POLYAMIDE AND GLASS, FOR EXAMPLE, IS USED IN COMPONENTS SUBJECT
TO THERMAL CHARGES; WITH ALUMINIUM FOR MOULD INSERTS AND FASTENINGS
REQUIRING HIGH DIMENSIONAL ACCURACY; WITH POLYSTYRENE FOR DISPOSABLE
MODELS FOR PRECISION CASTING; OR WITH CARBON FIBRE FOR HIGH-STRENGTH,
LOW-WEIGHT PARTS.
“MAKING COMPONENTS WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY IS IDEAL FOR COMPANIES WHO
NEED TO REACT QUICKLY TO MARKET REQUIREMENTS, FOR WHICH TRADITIONAL
PRODUCTION STRATEGIES MAY BE TOO SLOW,” CONCLUDES LENCIONI. “WITH SLS,
ON THE OTHER HAND, THE PRODUCTION OF SMALL LOTS IS AFFORDABLE, FLEXIBLE,
FAST AND REQUIRES NO FURTHER INVESTMENT IN THE PLANNING STAGE.”
JUSTIN RATCLIFFE