Indastria is a 3D printing service based in Monza Italy that offers project management and support for all phases of product development using the most innovative additive manufacturing technologies. To date, it has worked on more than 2,300 projects collaborating with companies in various industries, including engineering, research, medical, manufacturing, fashion, and automotive.
As they strive to meet their customers’ evolving needs in the best way possible, the company added selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printers in 2021 to their existing set of stereolithography (SLA) and fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printers, and CNC technology machines.
Choosing the Formlabs’ Fuse 1 SLS 3D printer allowed them to make sintered nylon PA12 parts ready for end-use applications. As a notable example, they recently produced end-use components for Moto2 team SpeedUp-Boscoscoscuro's motorcycles.
Before the Fuse 1, the production of SLS parts was outsourced. This required lead times of several days, if not weeks, whereas bringing SLS in-house allows the product to be delivered to the customer within 24 hours. After consulting 3DiTALY, an official Formlabs distributor and Formlabs authorized service center for Italy, Indastria’s first Fuse 1 immediately allowed them to be more agile in solving critical issues of their customers.
The Fuse 1 also helps Indastria to produce end-use products that are not subject to shape and size constraints, last a long time, and have very high precision.
"What really impressed me was the dimensional control of the parts. Where older generation sintered parts were sometimes slightly deformed, thin parts or long parts printed on the Fuse 1 never presented such problems. Formlabs has made it possible to install high-level 3D printing systems in very small and affordable environments, so within six months we had to purchase a second system because demand was growing every day. Not only that, in the following months we added two more Fuse 1 systems."
- Mirko Galati, Chief Technology Officer of Indastria
Outsourcing vs. In-House: When Does it Make Sense to Bring SLS 3D Printing In-House?
In this whitepaper, we evaluate the value proposition of bringing SLS 3D printers in-house, in comparison with outsourcing SLS parts from a service bureau.
Formlabs 3D Printers at the Service of the SpeedUp Moto2 Team
Indastria was the technical sponsor of the SpeedUp-Boscoscuro team for the 2022 Moto2 World Championship and was using their Fuse 1 printers to make motorcycle components that could then be used directly on the motorbike during races. Alonso López, one of their riders, gained 3rd place in Japan, 2nd place in Malaysia and 1st place in Australia riding motorbikes with 3D printed parts.
Here are some of the parts that Indastria produced for the SpeedUp-Boscoscuro Moto2 team:
Indastria produced a joint that’s part of the motorcycle’s airbox. The air intake duct is connected to the 3D printed part frontally and is made of carbon. They relied on the Fuse 1 because it could guarantee the dimensional accuracy required for this part and the joint made it possible to reduce air lift, and allowed for no leakage and therefore no loss of flow.
Indastria also 3D printed aerodynamic deflectors that are mounted on the front forks of the bike and during the race help the air to run better, aiding aerodynamics.
In between different races during the season, parts are often corrected or improved, which means that it is necessary to print them again very quickly. If the team created a new design on Sunday after a race, Indastria was able to provide the new modified 3D printed parts to be assembled and installed on the bike before the next race.
Indastria now owns four Fuse Series SLS 3D printers and four Formlabs SLA 3D printers. The latter are used, for example, to print headlight lenses, car interior dashboards, and engine prototypes.
"Formlabs launched the Fuse Ecosystem in early 2021 with the goal of making SLS technology accessible even for smaller companies, offering engineers, designers, and manufacturers the opportunity to experiment and produce in-house prototypes and parts for end-use applications with reduced cost and time. We are very happy to see that, thanks also to the valuable contribution of partners like 3DiTALY, Italian companies are also discovering and appreciating the potential of this technology."
Marco Zappia, Channel Sales Manager for Italy at Formlabs.
Guide to SLS Post-Processing Techniques: Media Blasting, Smoothing, Coating, Coloring, and More
Read our guide to learn about both the basics of post-processing SLS 3D printed parts and advanced methods to smooth, coat, and color finished prints.
SLS 3D Printer Fuse 1+ 30W for Superior Speed
In July 2022, Formlabs launched the Fuse 1+ 30W, a new version of our compact SLS 3D printer with industrial power. It boasts a powerful 30W laser that empowers companies to unlock same-day printing. It allows for zero waste printing, which enables lower cost per part so users can deliver maximum output and minimum waste.
