3DilBio

The main reason for creating the 3DilBio was the desire to dare. When both partners fulfilled their dream, they had other jobs to keep them busy. Gianpaolo worked for a major company in the pharmaceutical sector in the maintenance department, while Andrea worked as a researcher for an aeronautical company (3d metal printing sector). Then the two combined their skills and aspirations when they learned about the possibility of non-repayable loans from the Municipality of Brindisi. The team presented themselves as a mini team with this project, which won the competition. A long journey began from there.

Management structure and governance

The company is structured as a simplified limited liability company. Gianpaolo Errico is the Sole Director and Design Engineer, while Andrea Barletta is the Project Manager and Process Engineer.

Principles of work, objectives and activities

The business idea consists of 3 different steps.

The current one, which is in its final stages, focuses on constructing the 3D House Printer and commissioning.

In the second step, the machine operative is created to make improvements to solve the small problems encountered in the first phase. Subsequently, it will be used for fabricating artefacts and constructions for private individuals and public administrations. The first work will be carried out in Brindisi as agreed during the Palazzo Guerrieri tender.

The last step will involve hiring new resources for product engineering, new printer configurations, the design and control of construction work and the provision of a service to construction companies.

Target groups

The team focuses on two market segments: 1) the machine design market and 2) the sustainable building market.

The public to which the engineers refer is that of tourism as the aim is to rent the buildings they are going to build. The team also aims at people who prefer to construct their own homes with substantial economic savings (with respect for the environment). The team was also thinking about a 3D printer rental service.

Innovation

Innovative manufacturing is linked to a new way of producing the same objects but with a different approach. In this case, there is no longer the idea of building a house using bricks but a “funnel” that moves on rails with large dimensions.

The uniqueness of 3DilBio lies in:

• the housing construction process. The constructions are created layer by layer with an approach that tends to decrease the waste and time of traditional construction.
• the customization of a machine entirely designed by the team members.

Key partners

The key partners in the process are the Municipality of Brindis for first construction, Apulia Region for PIN Puglia, Sidertech for Mechanical assembly and space for testing (Of House Printer), D’Amato Engineering Group S.r.l. and Meg Service srl for Electrical Assembly of 3D House Printer.

Impact and Evaluation

The best result created is a dense network between companies that collaborate despite being from different sectors. One of the hypothetical customers would have (for example) as support:

• an engineering firm that helps the customer after a first design made on the 3DilBio’s website
• a company that takes care of the fixtures and everything related to the finishings (and heavy carpentry)
• a company for electrical panels and related certifications
• local farmers and start-ups for the natural insulation of the walls

Furthermore, a substantial fruit is a course on 3D printing / numerical control machines, created in an association in direct contact with the mandolin club of San Vitro dei Normanni. This result is part of the collaborations mentioned above. The team is creating a 360 ° machine, which will make up for their technical skills, with the partners’ support.

In Italy, at the moment, there is a medium/large reality such as “Wasp” which has entered the market using clay and raw earth. Scattered along mainly North Italy are small realities of a mainly academic nature.

The largest and most established companies on the world market are ICON (Texas US) and COBOD (Denmark). Both were born out of the same business idea as we were with a lacking national market. So, they were able to establish themselves after demonstrating and publicising this new high-performance technology.

Recommendations

The advice that the young entrepreneurs could give is to start from the construction rules of the single country and look out for local partners who can help in the growth of such a complex process. A substantial help could be the tenders that allow you to finance non-repayable ideas.

Lessons Learned

There are several aspects that the team has acquired during its experience. The main lessons learned concern banking and spending aspects; a 360 ° approach to various technical aspects, even outside one’s own area of competence; problem solving deriving from surmounted unexpected events; search for partners and creation of their own market; and supplier and customer management.

References

Palazzo Guerrieri – Laboratorio di Innovazione Urbana e PIN – Sblocca il tuo futuro! (regione.puglia.it)