Two Boats, Back-to-Back: A Major Step Toward Serial 3D Printing

Two Boats, Back-to-Back: A Major Step Toward Serial 3D Printing

Producing one large-scale 3D-printed boat is a technical achievement. Producing two, back-to-back, is something else entirely.

This month, RAW Idea reached an important milestone: after four years of development, our team successfully produced two Tanaruz boats consecutively. The achievement is more than a production milestone. It demonstrates that our large-scale additive manufacturing process is becoming repeatable, scalable, and ready to move beyond one-off production.

Getting there, however, was anything but straightforward.

From One-Off Production to Serial Manufacturing

When you're developing a product while simultaneously refining the technical process needed to manufacture it, iteration is inevitable.

Every print teaches you something. Toolpath movement, deposition temperature, material drying, print stability, and structural performance all influence the final result. Solving one issue can reveal another.

Over the past four years, the RAW Idea team has worked through these challenges while continuously improving both the boat and the manufacturing process behind it.

Producing two Tanaruz boats back-to-back was an opportunity to put that knowledge to the test.

And it worked.

The team stayed up late, monitored the print throughout the night, and carefully controlled the process to ensure that the details held where they mattered most. The result was not simply two finished boats, but proof that the process can be repeated.

Why Printing Two Boats Matters

For large-scale additive manufacturing, repeatability is just as important as the ability to create complex parts.

A successful one-off print shows that something can be made. Repeating the process demonstrates that it can be manufactured.

Printing two Tanaruz boats consecutively showed that RAW Idea can:

— Repeat the manufacturing process across multiple units

— Reduce material use while maintaining structural integrity

— Improve the boat's performance on the water

— Refine the process through repeated production

— Move closer to a scalable serial production model

This is an important shift for RAW Idea. The goal is not simply to demonstrate what large-scale 3D printing can produce, but to develop manufacturing processes that can be repeated and improved over time.

Four Years of Failures, Iterations and Learning

The final result may look straightforward, but getting there required overcoming countless technical challenges.

Among them were:

— Toolpath movement and accuracy

— Deposition temperature

— Material drying temperature

— Stability during printing

— Structural performance

— Process repeatability

Each variable can affect the final product. And at this scale, small inconsistencies can become significant problems.

That meant testing, failing, adjusting, and testing again.

As Alireza Badiee, RAW Idea's Engineering Manager, puts it:

“It was a long road. We printed, we failed, and we learned from every mistake, some of them costly. Talent alone isn't enough. You need a team that works as one.”

That team effort is an important part of the achievement. Large-scale additive manufacturing isn't just about the machine or the material. It requires engineering knowledge, hands-on experience, constant monitoring, and a willingness to learn from what doesn't work.

Building for What Comes Next

The two-boat run proves that the process works. But for RAW Idea, it is not the finish line.

The next step is to continue improving the manufacturing process: increasing automation, expanding capacity, and reducing production costs while maintaining and improving performance.

As Alireza explains, the ambition is clear: more automation, more capacity, and a boat that costs less to build while getting better.

That means every production run becomes an opportunity to improve the next one.

A Bigger Step for Large-Scale Additive Manufacturing

The significance of producing two Tanaruz boats back-to-back goes beyond the boats themselves.

It demonstrates what happens when years of engineering development, material research, machine optimisation, and practical experience come together.

For RAW Idea, this is a move from proving that large-scale additive manufacturing is possible to proving that it can become a repeatable manufacturing method.

Two boats may only be the beginning.

Where We Go From Here

Four years of iteration led to a moment that looked simple from the outside: two boats, produced back-to-back.

Behind that result were countless tests, failures, adjustments, late nights, and lessons learned along the way.

Now, RAW Idea has another milestone to build on. The process works and the focus shifts toward making it faster, more automated, more efficient, and more scalable.

Because the goal isn't just to print one boat.

It's to build a better way of manufacturing them.