The Camozzi MasterPrint 3X, built by Ingersoll Machine Tools (a Camozzi Group company), is a gantry-based large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) system that merges high-throughput thermoplastic extrusion with 5-axis CNC milling under a single gantry. Its defining promise is straightforward: print a near-net-shape aerospace tool, mold, or structural part, then machine it to final tolerance without moving it to another machine. Eliminating the transfer step eliminates the registration error it introduces — the CNC controller knows exactly where the printed geometry sits because it watched the extrusion build it. The working volume starts at 6 × 4 × 2 meters and scales upward; a single part can consume hundreds of kilograms of engineering thermoplastic.

How does hybrid additive-subtractive manufacturing work on the same gantry?

The MasterPrint 3X mounts both an extrusion head and a 25 kW / 18,000 RPM milling spindle (HSK 63A tool interface) on the same gantry, operated by a Siemens 840D or Sinumerik One CNC. The workflow: the extrusion head deposits molten thermoplastic — optionally loaded with 20% or more carbon fiber — in beads measured in millimetres, building the part layer by layer. Because the extrusion leaves a textured surface with dimensional variation, the spindle then performs a finish-machining pass on critical surfaces: sealing faces, dowel-pin bores, vacuum-channel mating surfaces on composite layup tools. The CNC can also machine indexing features into the part mid-print — a reference edge or datum plane — so that if the part is later removed for secondary processing and returned to the machine, probing the reference feature re-establishes the coordinate system. The auto-indexing motorised heater enables print restart after a pause or power interruption, re-heating the nozzle to the exact position where extrusion stopped.

What do the two throughput tiers — 68 kg/h and 227 kg/h — mean in practice?

The standard MasterPrint 3X uses a 30 mm screw (L/D = 24) with 4 barrel heating zones and delivers ~68 kg/h with ABS + 20% carbon fiber. The 3X 500 variant upgrades to a 60 mm screw (same L/D ratio) with 6 barrel heating zones, boosting throughput to ~227 kg/h with the same material. In practical terms: a composite layup tool for a wing skin that weighs 500 kg takes roughly 7.5 hours to print on the standard 3X, and just over 2 hours on the 3X 500. The material handling infrastructure scales with throughput — the standard hopper holds 600 lbs of raw pellet, the 3X 500 hopper holds 2,000 lbs, and the integrated dryer/delivery system prepares material at the rate the extruder consumes it. Both variants reach 500°C extrusion temperature, sufficient for PEI (ULTEM 9085 and 1010), PPSU, and PESU — the high-performance thermoplastics specified for aerospace tooling that must survive autoclave cure cycles at 180–200°C.

Why LFAM for aerospace tooling rather than traditional fabrication?

A large composite layup mold traditionally requires cutting steel or invar plates, welding them into a rough shape, stress-relieving the weldment, and then CNC machining the final surface — a process measured in months. LFAM prints the same mold in days as a single monolithic thermoplastic block, with only the working surface requiring finish machining. Ingersoll reports cost reductions of up to 90% and lead-time reductions from months to weeks. The thermoplastic mold is lighter than steel or invar, reducing handling and storage requirements. When the program ends, the thermoplastic can be ground and re-pelletised for re-use in the same machine — a closed-loop material cycle that eliminates mold disposal costs. For prototype tooling and short production runs where a steel tool's amortisation period never materialises, LFAM tools printed on the MasterPrint 3X change the economic trade-off entirely.