Pershing GTX116 is a 35-m yacht, with a sporty nature yet elegant style, and an extreme livability to elevate the seagoing experience to a new dimension. This sporty yacht optimises all onboard weights to achieve high performance.
The application of Caracol’s Heron AM platform demonstrates how large-format additive manufacturing can effectively be used to revolutionise yachting and luxury boat production, enabling the fabrication of complex superstructural parts with intricate geometries. In this project, Heron AM manufactured key elements, including side air intake grilles and visors, demonstrating its capability to deliver high-performance, customised solutions for the luxury yachting industry.
From traditional manufacturing to additive manufacturing
Yacht air grilles and other superstructures are traditionally produced through manual lamination of fibreglass on moulds. This process requires multiple moulds depending on the complexity of the geometry and involves intensive manual work by highly skilled labour, impacting both production time and costs.
In contrast, large-format 3D printing eliminates the need for master moulds and tools entirely, streamlining the production process. With Heron AM, composite components featuring intricate geometries and highly customised designs can be produced directly from the digital model, bypassing the manual lamination phase. This significantly reduces prototyping and production times, enabling rapid iterations and design optimisations. Moreover, the process only requires finishing operations such as gel coat application, further cutting down on labour-intensive steps.
Heron AM also enables the use of lightweight yet strong materials, improving component performance while reducing material waste, making the process more sustainable than traditional methods. Its flexibility allows for small-batch or fully customised production, catering to the specific needs of each project.
The additive manufacturing process and its benefits for Pershing GTX116 air grilles
- System: Heron 300
- Extruder: High Accuracy (HA)
- Nozzle size: 3 mm
- Material: ASA + 20% GF
- Printing time: 72 hrs
- Weight: 40 kg
- Size: 4200 x 400 x 400 mm
- Finish: Gel coat to ensure weather resistance and flawless aesthetics
The adoption of 3D printing technology to produce yacht air grilles has brought significant advantages over the traditional production methods. LFAM has optimised production processes, improving not only efficiency but also sustainability and the quality of the final product. The main benefits found include:
- Reduction in lead time: 50%
- Reduction in scrap: 60%
- Reduction in weight: 15%
Future developments of LFAM in the marine industry
The adoption of additive manufacturing is proving to be a key strategy for the marine industry, enabling the production of highly complex and tailored components, optimising manufacturing processes and reducing time-to-market. In this context, Caracol’s Heron AM technology emerges as a cutting-edge solution, capable of delivering excellent performance and greater versatility than traditional methods.
In this specific project, the quality and flexibility of Caracol’s robotic platform have led to shorter lightweight air grilles production time, improved efficiency and reduced material waste, with a positive impact on both costs and the environment. Heron AM technology has proven to be not only a valuable ally in making lighter and stronger structural components, but also a catalyst for innovation, opening up new perspectives in the design and production of unique and highly customised yacht superstructures.
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