In Italy a scale-up was born in 2017 thanks to the intuitions of four
founders from the Milanese universities Politecnico, Cattolica and Bocconi.
Lots of research and development to work on the potential of large-format
additive manufacturing, i.e. large-format 3D printing. Because the four
founders have been working to overcome the limits of existing 3D printing
technologies since day one. Giampaolo Colletti interviews Francesco De Stefano, CEO of Caracol, for FARE INSIEME
FARE INSIEME STARTUP is the
spin-off of the FARE INSIEME project dedicated to presenting some businesses
that form part of the Primo Ventures portfolio, a company that manages funds
specialising in the digital sector and new space economy. Confindustria Emilia
has started up a partnership with Primo Ventures with the objective of
providing its associates with new opportunities for growth thanks to the
presentation of the most innovative start-ups on the market. Here are some of
their stories.
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
We
were four friends at the bar who wanted to change the world. Words that
immediately bring to mind one of the most famous Italian songs, written and
performed in 1991 by the singer-songwriter Gino Paoli. But the beginning can
also best tell the story of a hi-tech company born in 2017, when a group of
friends understood the revolutionary significance of 3D printing. So these same
talents - engaged in their university years in three different Milanese
universities and at the time building on different experiences and diversified
skills - decided to get together. Caracol was thus born, a company that todaysells technological solutions to meet the needs of customers in advanced
sectors who need to produce large, complex parts. In Caracol, technological
capital becomes something more. Even hyper-technological. The company has
a proprietary software platform and creates complex shapes, overcoming the
limits of the classic printer per cubic metre. A process that allows the 3D
printing process to be scaled up thanks to robotics. We are in Brianza, but
customers and partners are everywhere. In the world and also in Emilia. Thus,
customers are diversified in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia.
These are companies involved in aeronautics, space, automotive, energy, creative
sectors, such as architecture and construction, and design. But the potential
market is as big as the entire world because the flexible nature of 3D printing
opens up unexpected scenarios.
Company profile. The
headquarters is in Barlassina, in the Brianza area, a crossroads of ideas and
businesses. Then recently there is also the new R&D centre in Paderno
Dugnano, in the Milan area. From Italy to the whole world. A few weeks ago the
first production centre opened in Austin, Texas. The team currently counts 65
people, but there are many open positions. «In
fact, we preside over additive manufacturing, better known as 3D printing, a
generic term used to define the family of technologies that produce through the
addition of material starting from digital files»,
states Francesco De Stefano, CEO of Caracol. For this young top manager it was
love at first sight. «My friends invited
me to show me a first prototype in Lomazzo, in the Como area. I instantly fell in love with the idea»,
recalls De Stefano. Caracol has several tricks up its sleeve: it has developed
a large-scale 3D printing process that consists of an extrusion head, mounted
on robotic arms as a motion support and that works with thermoplastic
materials. The robotic process offers many advantages for applications beyond
traditional 3D printers. «We are leaders
in large-scale industrial 3D printing. We have developed an integrated
hardware, software and automation platform that is essentially a large robot
that prints polymeric, composite and recently also metallic materials in 3D.
Our technology creates components ranging from half a metre up to 15-20 metres.
The peculiarity is that we always start from our customer's application and
then recreate it», says De Stefano.
Research and the future. Caracol invests 40%
of its turnover in R&D. The investments are aimed at accelerating the
development of large format 3D printing robotic solutions. «We have
four departments dedicated to innovation in the fields of mechanical
engineering, software, automation and materials. Every year we double the
research team and invest in collaborations with universities and applied
research institutes to develop highly innovative solutions that allow us to
make our robotic printing platforms increasingly advanced to embrace an
ever-increasing range of applications and sectors. The closing of the SEED
round, with the certificate of trust from funds of the caliber of Primo
Ventures and EUREKA! Ventures has finally allowed us to build Caracol as we
have always dreamed of. And then the next round with CDP Ventures, Neva SGR and
again Primo and EUREKA! was for us the consecration of the good work performed
up to then»,
specifies De Stefano. In the future there is the idea of creating a
distributed network of robots that produce large 3D printed parts all over the
world, directly close to the point of use. Overcoming the limits of logistics,
limiting the impact and thinking big. This is the winning recipe for successful
businesses.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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