Filippi 1971, a company based in Berbenno, northern Italy, has a five-decade history in manufacturing semifinished solid wood products for the furniture industry. In 2017, they established a new department called Moitech®, focused on producing composite objects that would help reduce vehicle weight.
Moitech® of Filippi 1971 focused on producing composite objects that would help reduce vehicle weight.
Initially, Filippi 1971 used traditional methods with wooden and aluminium moulds, but these materials had limitations in terms of strength and heat resistance. A more advanced solution was needed, and thus, Moitech® decided to incorporate 3D printing into their operations. They chose Raise3D’s Pro2 Plus 3D printer for its reliability, quality/price ratio, and the ability to print technical materials. The printer’s large build volume and dual extruders were particularly valuable.
Moitech® chose Raise3D’s Pro2 Plus.
“Nowadays any research and development department should have a 3D printer,” says Matteo Pellegrini, from Filippi 1971’s IT Department, “because prototyping and production costs are much lower and because, as also happened at Moitech®, in some cases additive manufacturing tools are the only possible solution.”
Leveraging on Raise3D OFP (Open Filament Program), they not only use Raise3D’s ABS filament, but also CA-PET filament from Treed for different applications based on their mechanical and thermal requirements. This allowed them to expand their product offerings, create custom spare parts for machinery, and differentiate themselves from competitors.
Raise3D OFP (Open Filament Program) allowed Moitech® to expand their product offerings while creating custom spare parts for machinery.
Carbon is used when the team needs parts with a certain mechanical strength and a good aesthetic finish: they use black carbon for the batten holders’ body and red carbon for the embossed logo, or the black carbon to create beehive structures to lighten vehicle components. ABS, on the other hand, is used for those parts that need to withstand high temperatures (such as autoclave moulds).
Carbon is used with a certain mechanical strength and a good aesthetic finish.
The Raise3D Pro2 Plus enabled Moitech® to expand its product catalogue, offering complete solutions with accessories that the competition does not have in its repertoire.
Matteo tells of how it was to use ideaMaker software, appreciating how it is “an easy and intuitive software [solution]”, going on to affirm how he can install the software on as many devices as he wants “so that the whole team can use it for different reasons (to prepare and launch the print or to check the progress of the print with the camera).” Matteo also finds the in-built time and cost simulator integrated in the slicer very useful to predict the numbers related to the print, whether it’s hours needed to complete the print, quantity of material consumed, or an idea of the final price of the piece to be made.
In conclusion, additive manufacturing is seen as the future due to its cost-effectiveness and sustainability compared to subtractive manufacturing. Companies are encouraged to invest in these innovative production methods. And from his own observations from using the Raise3D Pro2 Plus, Matteo has concluded how important 3D printing in research and development departments is, due to the aforementioned cost-effectiveness in addition to its versatility.
The Raise3D Pro2 Plus enabled Moitech® to expand its product catalogue.
This information was shared in an interview with Matteo by Arianna Zanetti, Marketing Manager of Ciano Shapes, a Raise3D reseller in Italy.
