FB DESIGN: Research and Development

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

THE FIVE AXIS MILLING MACHINE
	To reduce the working time on the realization of models and moulds, FB Design has recently bought a five axis milling machine with numeric control (CNC) with a working surface of 24x6,5x3,5 meters, big enough to build a full-scale hull. Thanks to this machine it's possible to create both moulds and models made in polyurethane material that are already prepared for the final moulding and that need just to be strengthen on the surface. This milling machine is capable of changing his tools in a totally automatic way. The control system of the machine is placed on the border of it and it uses a dedicated CAM software that: decides the path of all the tools, calculates the possible collisions, estimates the working time and feigns visually the superficial quality of the finished piece. Two different CAD software allow us to reproduce the inside of various 3D models; it's possible to mill Ureol blocks of small dimensions (most of them are mechanical components) ready to be sent to the foundry. For those kind of models, the machine uses two powerful vacuum pump, that allow to keep fixed the pieces while the milling machine is working on them. The operative flexibility of the machine, combined to its power and its working space, allow to build in an automatic way many copies of the same model.
THE STRUCTURAL FOAM CONSTRUCTION
In this new FB Design patent, the main structure is the base platform in fiberglass, injected with closed cells polyurethane foam (medium density 60÷65 kg/m3) and five longitudinal stiffeners attached both to the hull and to the cockpit floor. Thanks to a revolutionary system the Structural Foam® patent taken out by FB Design creates an unsinkable and very resistant hull that combines the longitudinal strength of the stringers with the high density foam for sandwich. This new technolgy is already well tested with the new multi-functional platform FB_38'STAB_SF (adopted by the Italian Coast Guard and many other military corps) and the FB 43' SF.