Designtech, the parent company of Startupbusiness, Caracol and Lam\u00e0quina, are joining forces to create Milan\u2019s first permanent hub dedicated to large-scale robotic additive manufacturing applied to design. The partnership brings together three complementary elements: innovation infrastructure, advanced industrial-grade production technology and expertise in design and manufacturing. The aim is to build something that did not previously exist in Italy: an operational LFAM (large-format additive manufacturing) facility integrated into the city\u2019s design community, open to designers, studios and brands. <\/p>\n\n
As Milan\u2019s leading hub for the design, furniture, architecture and construction sectors, Designtech connects creative professionals with the technologies, production capabilities and expertise needed to transform bold ideas into tangible products and built environments.<\/p>\n\n
As Ivan Tallarico, CEO of Designtech, stated in a press release: \u201cDesigntech does not manufacture products. We build the ecosystem that makes innovative products possible. We bring together technologies, manufacturing capabilities, creative talent and industrial partners within a single ecosystem where ambitious ideas become real products, spaces and companies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Caracol, a Milan-based company specialising in advanced robotic manufacturing, acts as a technology enabler: it supplies not only hardware, but the entire ecosystem for advanced robotic manufacturing. At the heart of it all is the Heron AM platform, now operational within the Designtech space, capable of producing large components from advanced thermoplastics, sustainable materials and recycled materials. Alongside this system, Caracol utilises its Eidos manufacturing software, its expertise in materials and processes, and years of manufacturing experience, enabling the system to operate to industrial-grade standards. For the design community, this means gaining genuine and streamlined access to manufacturing capabilities previously reserved for industrial manufacturers. <\/p>\n\n
Paolo Cassis, COO and co-founder of Caracol, says: “Milan lies at the crossroads of design, creativity and industrial progress: it is the ideal place to bring together all the key players needed to make this ecosystem work.” <\/strong>“This partnership reflects an integrated ‘Made in Italy’ approach, which showcases not only new design concepts but also in-depth engineering expertise. Caracol\u2019s role is to act as the technological facilitator for this heritage, developing the tools to scale it up globally.” <\/p>\n\n Lam\u00e0quina, a Spanish company specialising in robotic manufacturing, brings the expertise and manufacturing culture that transform large-scale robotic 3D printing into a genuine design tool, working at the intersection of computational design, robotic programming and materials research to guide projects from concept to finished product. With an international portfolio spanning museums, restaurants, fashion boutiques, exhibition centres and cultural institutions, Lam\u00e0quina\u2019s founder, Aldo Sollazzo, is an Italian entrepreneur who ventured abroad to realise his vision. Today, that vision has become a reality, with Milan providing the ideal environment for the company\u2019s expansion. <\/p>\n\n Aldo Sollazzo, CEO of Lam\u00e0quina, adds: “Lam\u00e0quina is committed to shaping a new market for additive manufacturing in architecture: challenging existing design paradigms and identifying where large-scale 3D printing can play a decisive role in the built environment.”<\/p>\n\n In addition to the hub itself, the three partners share a long-term vision: to spread the culture and expertise surrounding large-scale robotic manufacturing within the Italian design and manufacturing community. The aim is to enable designers, studios, brands and cultural institutions to develop projects that push the boundaries of what can be produced, demonstrating in practice what a more flexible, efficient and sustainable approach to manufacturing can look like. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Designtech, Caracol and Lam\u00e0quina launch a platform in Milan for those wishing to access the most advanced technologies and expertise<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":183537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_substack_draft_id":"","_substack_draft_url":"","_substack_last_pushed":"","_substack_premium":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1345],"tags":[1451,1425,1137,2047,1323],"companies":[2905,2360,3586],"journalist":[1518],"class_list":["post-183538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scaleup","tag-3d-printing-en","tag-design-en","tag-italy-en","tag-robotica-en","tag-scaleup-en","companies-caracol-en","companies-designtech-en","companies-lamaquina","journalist-editorial-staff-en"],"featured_sizes_urls":{"thumbnail":{"src":"https:\/\/www.startupbusiness.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CoFactory_005.jpg","width":150,"height":100,"crop":false,"srcset":false,"alt":"robotic design"},"large":{"src":"https:\/\/www.startupbusiness.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CoFactory_005.jpg","width":1024,"height":682,"crop":false,"srcset":false,"alt":"robotic design"},"2048x2048":{"src":"https:\/\/www.startupbusiness.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CoFactory_005.jpg","width":1280,"height":853,"crop":false,"srcset":false,"alt":"robotic design"}},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n