Spanish Company Nocu uses Large Format 3D Printer – Interview with Javier Uria

Talleres Nocu, a Spanish SME founded in 1956, focuses on the design and production of foundry patterns, patterns for composite parts as well as industrial prototypes. The company has a team of 20 employees and is equipped with state of the art technology including CAD software, CNC machinery, digital scanners and also offers Large Format Additive Manufacturing. In an interview with 3Druck.com General Manager Javier Uria shares his insight into the additive manufacturing industry.

Nocu uses 3D printing for specific types of foundry patterns and any other prototypes or parts that their customers require, from small to very large ones with up to 2 meters in length. The range of materials extends from PLA to Ulthem, including ABS, PC and others.

Although about a third of the company’s production is dedicated to the naval propulsion industry, it also serves the national and international industrial sector by producing propellers, machinery, valves, pumps, machine tools, dies, compressors, reducers as well as parts for the aeronautic and wind power sector.

Interview with Javier Uria, General Manager at Nocu

In an Interview with 3Druck.com, General Manager Javier Uria shares his insight into the industry and outlines the areas in which he believes the strengths of additive manufacturing technology lie.

In your opinion, what significance does additive manufacturing have for the industrial fields you are targeting? 

I’d say that we are still beginning to discover the potential of additive manufacturing and how to apply it in the different “industrial niches”. We can see in our surrounding that some applications might substitute old ways of doing while others will be complementary. In some cases it even allows us to produce certain parts that couldn’t be produced with other methods.

Additive manufacturing has continuously developed in recent years. Which innovations or technological breakthroughs do you consider to be particularly important for the industry sector? 

In my understanding many innovations regarding improved materials, multi-material printing and increased speed will make more „tailor-made” production feasible, reaching new different markets.

Also bigger scale additive production will reach new markets.

Hybrid manufacturing, combining additive manufacturing techniques with CNC plus improved materials will allow to produce not only high-quality prototypes but also ready-to-use parts.

First Corona and the now high inflation pose major challenges for the entire industry. In your opinion, how do the multiple crises affect the additive manufacturing industry? 

I’d like to distinguish 2 different phases:
During the corona crises a high push to the 3d printing industry was clearly recognisable, as there was a very fast reaction from the community to provide provisional individual protection equipment. It also showed the general public that 3d printers were already in use and had practical uses. So many people in the industry that were reluctant to its use started to think how they could get benefit out of it.

I’m afraid that now we are living a second phase, driven by higher interest rates that make people more reluctant to invest and therefor many projects might slow down.

What impact do you think additive manufacturing will have on various industries and possibly society as a whole in the coming years? 

As mentioned, I think that the biggest impact will be in customization and personalization, leading to a shift from mass production to tailor-made solutions across different types of industries.
Also to consider is the freedom in the design that, together with new materials, will enable to develop new solutions for many applications, fostering innovation in product design.