Dutch start-up to increase production of 3D-printed boats

Dutch start-up to increase production of 3D-printed boats

A Dutch start-up is reportedly planning to scale up production of its 3D-printed boats to 300 units by 2023. Tanaruz boats are designed, developed and produced by RAW Idea BV and are manufactured at its Rotterdam plant using a 14m-long 3D printer produced by Swiss-Swedish electrical equipment firm ABB. All of the boats are made from reclaimed and recycled polymers which, at the end of a boat’s life, can be shredded down and reused to print a new boat.

In 2022 the firm aims to 3D print around 100 pleasure yachts and to increase this to 300 by 2023. There are plans to find and open a second location in order to install more 3D printers to boost production. With the addition of a second facility, Tanaruz says two printers could work on one boat at the same time, potentially allowing boats larger than 10m to be 3D printed.

Tanaruz currently produces four boat models from 4.5m-10m. They can be personalised and equipped with electric motors, batteries and solar panels, and customers can choose the colour, interior and equipment of their vessel. In addition to the sustainability and production cost benefits of leveraging 3D printing to build its boats, the technology also enables Tanaruz to lower the price of its yachts for customers. The firm’s entry-level model is priced at around €15,000, which could be reduced further as the company scales up its production.

Going forwards, the firm is looking for partners and investors to grow its reach internationally, offering shipyards and print shops around the world the opportunity to get started with its ‘plug-and-play’ additive manufacturing technology.

Tanaruz is not the only player making headway in deploying 3D printing for boats and pleasure yachts. Just last month, the University of Maine (UMaine) 3D printed two new large-scale boats, one of which is reportedly the largest vessel ever to be additively manufactured. The vessels were developed for the US Marine Corps as logistical support vessels, and will be tested for field use by the armed forces. Elsewhere, tech start-up Moi Composites displayed what it claimed was the world’s first boat 3D printed in continuous fibreglass thermoset material at the 2020 Genoa Boat Show.

Source: IBI News