In Chile, a proposal is taking shape that unites Industrial robotics, Print 3D and waste recycling to manufacture street furniture and large-format architectural elements. It is a model that, although originating in Latin America, directly addresses the challenges also faced by Spain and the rest of Europe: excess of difficult-to-manage plastics and the need for more sustainable infrastructure.
The protagonist of this story is LAMA 3D, a Chilean startup that has launched a system of 3D printing robotics with plastic waste at full scale, using robotic arms and blends of recycled polymers from mining, agriculture, and fishing. Their approach has become a regional benchmark and is beginning to attract the attention of European institutions and trade fairs, where there is interest in how these types of solutions can be replicated or used in collaboration with projects within the European Union.
A pioneering startup in robotic 3D printing with waste materials in Latin America
Founded in August 2025 in ChileLAMA 3D is presented as the only Latin American company using industrial robotic arms at full scale for 3D print large parts from plastic waste. Their specialty is transforming those materials into urban furniture, architectural modules and design objects that can be installed in public spaces or private projects.
The company has positioned itself at the intersection between advanced technology, circular economy and sustainable constructionThis is an area where Europe has been regulating and promoting projects for years, but where there is still room for more radical solutions based on robotics and digital manufacturing. The Chilean case thus serves as a real-scale experiment of what could be integrated into European cities seeking to reduce their carbon footprint in public works and infrastructure.
Behind the project is a team that combines academic background in 3D printingexperience in the plastics industry and knowledge of the world of sustainability. Its promoters include Juan Cristóbal Karich, designer and researcher who has worked with 3D printing since 2008 and who developed robotic manufacturing projects in the Adolfo Ibáñez Universityand profiles like Francisco Cruz y Christian Arriagada, linked to management, business development and waste traceability.
The stated goal is to become a regional leader in sustainable additive manufacturingdemonstrating that it is possible to produce on an urban scale using local waste, something that fits with the main lines of European environmental policy, since the Green Deal including the circular economy strategies promoted by Brussels.
Industrial robots for large-scale printing
The heart of LAMA 3D's proposal is its industrial robotic arms, equipped with specific extruders to work with recycled materials. The company operates with two main pieces of equipment, with loading capacities of 180 kg and 125 kg, capable of extruding up to 25 kg of recycled plastic per hourCompared to a conventional 3D printer, which typically prints between 250 and 300 grams per hour, the leap in productivity is enormous.
This performance allows manufacturing three-meter columns, cladding panels, streetlights and park benches from plastic waste that would otherwise end up stored or sent to landfills. The technology is getting closer to a flexible production line than the typical desktop printer, and opens the door to tactical urbanism projects, temporary facilities or modular solutions that could be of interest to both Chilean municipalities and European cities.
The complexity is not limited to the hardware. The team has had to develop a set of printing parameters and Quality Control adapted to the variability of the waste. Unlike standardized virgin filaments, post-industrial or post-consumer plastics exhibit differences in composition, moisture, color, and thermal behavior, which necessitates intensive work on characterization and testing to ensure dimensional stability and mechanical resistance.
According to its creators, this layer of specialized knowledge functions as a technological barrier to entry in the face of potential competitors, something that European innovation ecosystems also value when looking for partners or use cases with a certain degree of maturity.
From mining and agricultural waste to squares and buildings
The raw material for LAMA 3D is a mosaic of plastic waste from intensive sectors In Chile: mining, agriculture, fishing, and consumer goods. The company works with HDPE (high-density polyethylene), polypropylene (PP), PET and other hard plastics, such as high-impact polystyrene from yogurt containers or fruit boxes, in addition to disused fishing nets.
These materials offer low weight, good chemical resistance and suitable mechanical properties for applications that must last for years outdoors. Furthermore, their performance can be adjusted by flame retardant additives, UV stabilizers or impact modifiers, in line with what is already being done in the plastics industry in Europe, but applied here to a robotic additive manufacturing process.
One of the distinguishing features of the project is the incorporation of calcium carbonate from mussel shells from Chiloé, which is used as a mineral stabilizer in the mixtures. This component, derived from waste from the mussel farming industry in southern Chile, helps reduce deformation during the cooling of the parts and It reduces the cost compared to traditional synthetic additives., thereby integrating a second waste stream into the production system.
The idea of ​​combining plastic waste with marine by-products It has parallels with initiatives already emerging in Europe, where biocomposites are being experimented with for urban furniture, lightweight construction, and acoustic panels. In this case, the Chilean proposal demonstrates how this approach can be scaled up using large robots and adapted extrusion systems.
A business model based on design, manufacturing and R&D
LAMA 3D has structured its activity into three main service lines: design, custom manufacturing and research and developmentThis combination allows you to generate short-term income while building reusable technical knowledge in the medium and long term.
In the part of designThe team collaborates with architects, urban planners, designers, and administrations to define street furniture, architectural elements and customized solutionsFrom benches and pergolas to modular panels and event structures, the goal is for the resulting pieces to not only be functional but also to integrate aesthetic value and the narrative of the circular economy.
On the slope of manufacturingRobotic arms allow production functional prototypes and short series of large parts in less time than conventional molding, milling, or cutting methods. This opens up the possibility of carrying out pilot projects in neighborhoods, parks, or unique buildings—a strategy that aligns with the testing and scaling dynamics also seen in Europe when introducing new materials or construction typologies.
Finally, the area of R+D focuses on technical characterization of the different plastic waste streamsas well as in the optimization of printing parameters for new applications. This work generates data, protocols, and potentially intellectual property that could lead to future licensing, collaborations with European universities, or participation in international research consortia.
The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Law in Chile and its parallels with European regulations
The Chilean regulatory context has been key to the emergence of a company of this type. REP Law (Extended Producer Responsibility) It requires manufacturers and importers to take responsibility for the life cycle of the products they place on the market, which includes waste collection and recovery targets. Within this framework, LAMA 3D positions itself as a technologically sound destination for complex plastic wastehelping companies comply with regulations.
This dynamic is not foreign to Europe, where the legislation on packaging, single-use plastics and construction waste It pressures industries to find higher value-added uses for their waste. The interest of European trade fairs and universities in the Chilean case has much to do with this coincidence: if the model works in a country with a strong mining and agro-industrial presence, it could be adapted to European regions with similar problems.
In practice, LAMA 3D acts as strategic supplier for municipalities, mining companies, fishing companies and agribusinesses They need to demonstrate that their waste is transformed into new products. Traceability, managed by waste management specialists, allows for documenting the origin of the material and its transformation, something increasingly demanded by European regulatory frameworks and sustainability standards.
This alignment between regulatory obligation and technological supply reduces the customer acquisition costThis is because companies are actively seeking partners that will allow them to meet their legal obligations while simultaneously improving their public image.
International validation at the Formnext trade fair in Frankfurt
One of the milestones that has given the project international exposure was its participation in Formnext, the world's leading trade fair additive manufacturing and 3D printing, held every year in Frankfurt (Germany)At the end of 2025, LAMA 3D was invited by the Technical University of Darmstadt to present their approach to robotic printing with plastic waste and mineral additives from ground shells.
This European showcase brings together hardware manufacturers, materials developers, and engineering companies from around the world, including numerous Spanish and European companies exploring solutions for the construction, automotive, aerospace, and healthcare sectors. The fact that a Latin American startup, just a few months old, gained access to this platform with a proposal based on... circular economy and large-scale robotics It was interpreted as a sign that the model had technical soundness and commercial potential.
The presentation in Germany also allowed us to establish academic links and potential collaborations with European research centers interested in using local waste for large-format 3D printing. Although the project is being developed in Chile, the logic it proposes—manufacturing infrastructure from regional waste—is perfectly transferable to contexts such as southern Europe, where plastic-intensive agri-food sectors coexist with strong pressure to reduce the environmental footprint of construction.
In this sense, the Chilean experience is becoming a case study for innovation policies that seek to connect startups from outside Europe with specific challenges in European cities and regions, both in publicly funded projects and in collaborations with private companies.
A new way of manufacturing for cities
Beyond the technological aspect, the LAMA 3D project proposes a a new way of producing objects for citiesDigital manufacturing with robots allows the design to be adapted to each location, geometries to be adjusted to the needs of the environment, and specific orders to be fulfilled without the need for molds or large series, something that fits well with the urban transformation that both Chile and many European countries are experiencing.
Experiments have already been tested in different parts of the world where robots print bridges, houses, or structural elementswith the promise of reducing waste and execution times. LAMA 3D is positioned along the same lines, but using as its main input local plastic waste and moving towards medium-scale furniture and infrastructure, where it is easier to find real projects than to go directly to entire buildings.
For Spain and Europe, where the strategies of circular city And since the reuse of demolition materials and plastic waste is under intense discussion, these types of initiatives provide concrete examples of how it is possible to make it compatible with Customizing design while reducing environmental impactThe possibility of printing on demand and close to the installation site also fits with the trend to relocate certain value chains and reduce transport and logistics.
In short, the LAMA 3D case shows that 3D robotic printing with waste It is no longer just a laboratory experiment, but a production tool that can be integrated into urban projects, helping to close material cycles and generating, incidentally, new business opportunities around the circular economy both in Chile and in the European space.
