Ultra-light large-format 3D printing: Nugae brings CoreLight3D to Naples

In the “Garibaldi Urban Orchestra” project in Naples, the Italian company Nugae demonstrates how large-format 3D printing can work as a tool for urban space design and stage scenery. Instead of massive, heavy components, the company relies on extremely lightweight, robot-assisted structures made from recycled plastics, implemented using its own CoreLight3D technology. The installation thus combines urban art, acoustic experiments and large-format additive manufacturing.

At the core of the approach is an expanded thermoplastic core made from recycled material with a density of around 160 kg/m³. According to Nugae, conventional large-format additive manufacturing systems often work with materials around 1,400 kg/m³. The core is designed so that, with the lowest possible material usage, a high specific stiffness is achieved and face sheets or robotically printed shell structures can be bonded directly. This makes it possible to achieve wall thicknesses in the range of 1 to 3 mm, which are stabilized by strategically placed stiffeners.

The technical platform comprises a specially developed extruder, which is itself partly additively manufactured, kinematically optimized robotic systems with traverse speeds of up to 300 mm/s, as well as short-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics. A proprietary slicer controls the toolpath so that thin-walled geometries can be printed without sagging. According to Nugae, material consumption can be significantly reduced compared to typical LFAM approaches, while maintaining high dimensional stability and a smooth surface.

“We developed this material, which we define as UL-LFAM, ultra-light LFAM, to build lighter boats,” explains Francesco Belvisi, founder of NUGAE, “but we have long been committed to themes of urban regeneration and social impact. We have been collaborating with Pessoa Luna Park for some time and now, with Garibaldi Urban Orchestra, they have created the ideal place to kick off this new revolution, which we would have no hesitation in calling ‘monstrous’, especially when compared to the current state of other LFAM technologies.”

For the Naples installation, several meter-long, organically shaped “monsters” were created which, despite their size, weigh only a few kilograms and can be moved with one hand thanks to internal lattice structures.

Co-founder Marco Calatroni adds: “Working in technological innovation, at NUGAE we are convinced it must be a tool to improve individuals and society on multiple levels. Moreover, being involved in projects that cross-contaminate and challenge us with something outside our specific focus is always a golden opportunity. When Pessoa proposed that we create the monsters for Garibaldi Urban Orchestra, we didn’t hesitate for a second.”

In the Garibaldi Urban Orchestra, the printed parts serve not only as scenery, but also as acoustically active elements: the thin, undulating surfaces vibrate and act as large-area resonators. The project thus demonstrates that large-format 3D printing can be used beyond industrial prototypes as a flexible medium for architecture, performance and urban interventions – especially when material consumption, weight and functional integration are consistently considered in the CAD model from the outset.