Marco Bottecchia (41), Samuele Maistri (35)

PLUSFORYOU (+4U) is the brainchild of the founders who are passionate about technology in general, and Additive Manufacturing (AM).

The mission of +4U is to create engineering design software specially structured and optimized for AM.

Over the years we have seen a wave of growth in media interest for 3D printing (orAdditive Manufacturing, AM) targeting the production of mainly plastic gadgets for the world of consumers. Then when FabLab made its appearance in major cities it opened up new possibilities for anyone wanting to manufacture a piece to their own design. For example, we can all design and manufacture our own smartphone, covers, custom jewelry and a whole range of personal items.

AM has also begun taking off in the field of industrial prototyping. This technology has been used in highly specialized areas, such as the aeronautical, space and biomedical industries. The problem is the leap from prototype to mass production, because AM is too expensive to replace traditional manufacturing technology. The reason for this can be found in the use of 3D design (CAD and CAM) created to optimize production obtained by removing material.

PLUSFORYOU is a new tool that can optimize design for 3D printing by introducing a completely new engineering and 3D design concept for items, metal and other pieces, for industrial application.

The concept is based on nature: birds fly thanks to their pneumatic bones, which are both hollow-core and solid at the same time, keeping their skeletons light. The basic principle of AM lies in creating a piece from nothing by adding material molecule by molecule. Something like the work of bees that deposit their wax layer by layer to build a whole hive. There are many advantages to AM, all linked:

1. adding the material to make the piece molecule-by-molecule means a reduction in waste because you only use what is strictly necessary to manufacture the actual piece;
2. there are almost no off-cuts at all, which leads to lower costs for purchasing raw materials and for the end product;
3. for the same mechanical performance, the hollow-core structure of the pieces makes them much lighter (up to 70%) than products made using traditional technology. This is very positive for sectors that require high stress resistance and lightness at the same time, e.g. aeronautics, racing cars, sports equipment.

Thanks to the pre-defined models of the new PLUSFORYOU design SW, industrial pieces can be designed and many hours can be saved in the engineering and design phase, even without in-depth structural knowhow.

+4U, exploiting the perfect combination of design automation and automated test systems based on Finite Element Analysis, means the industrial world can use AM as a manufacturing option with no restrictions on skills, financial resources and production volumes.

Website: www.plusforyou.it