moi: redefining manufacturing by 3D printing composites

Composites manufacturing is a form of additive manufacturing that enables more structural efficiency for the finished part. Instead of creating a part layer by layer on a flat surface as you would with a 3D printer, this method manufactures in the Z direction too, giving the object more strength. The startup moi composites has developed its own composites fiber manufacturing process also known as CFM – it allows for composite fibers to be placed precisely where they are needed in the direction of the load paths to manufacture high-performance, three-dimensional structures. We sat down with Michele Tonizzo, CTO of moi composites to discuss the company’s technology and the sort of applications that could benefit from it.

3DN: Could you present yourself and your link with 3D printing?

My name is Michele Tonizzo and I am the CTO of moi composites, a spin-off company of Politecnico di Milano University in Italy developing Additive Manufacturing processes for composite materials. I started using 3D printing while working in architectural offices to realise scaled models of designs, and one day, by chance, I came across +LAB, the 3D printing lab of the “Giulio Natta” department at the university where I worked for two years as a researcher before founding moi and where I met with the other two founders: Gabriele Natale and Prof. Marinella Levi.

Michele Tonizzo (left) and Gabriele Natale (right) at the James Dyson Award

3DN: How did the idea of creating moi come about?

The CFM (Continuous Fiber Manufacturing) process behind moi came from Gabriele’s thesis in Design and Engineering and his desire of realising a boat without the currently tight design restrictions of fiberglass manufacturing. After his graduation, we started working together at +LAB on the development of the CFM technology, as well as other processes for different types of composites, with the idea, one day, of providing new solutions for the additive manufacturing of composite materials enhancing the performances of the fibers without design limitations. Three years after we decided it was time to go on the market and we founded our company moi.