Sawdust is an unavoidable part of woodworking. Lathes, saws, and other subtractive processes generate piles of the stuff. As annoying as it is in your garage, though, sawdust at a manufacturing plant is industrial waste. But now Forust, a subsidiary of 3D printer manufacturer Desktop Metal, has figured out how to turn sawdust into solid wood objects. The high-volume process will let manufacturers mass-produce furniture, household goods, and luxury architectural accents from what was once industrial waste.
Binder Jetting “Real” Wood
This new wood-printing process is based on Desktop Metal’s binder jetting 3D printers. These industrial printers are designed around inkjet-style print heads that spray a binder on layers of powdered metal. Rather than using metals, Forust uses sawdust as the feedstock and another wood product, lignin, as the binder.
“Forust offers nearly unlimited design flexibility,” said Forust CEO Andrew Jeffery. “And, because they are made from a wood and bioresin compound, these parts exhibit the functionality and stiffness in line with conventional wood. Our finished pieces are indistinguishable from traditionally manufactured wood products you would find in a store. The additive manufacturing process literally becomes invisible.”
New Shapes for Old Material
Forust’s business model focuses on selling wood-configured Desktop Metal printers to manufacturers and 3D printing service companies. But first people need to know what is possible when 3D printing with wood. To that end, Forust created its own print-on-demand service. Designers and consumers can upload their own designs to the Forust website and order a custom print run.
To kick things off, Forust recruited industrial designer Yves Béhar to create a line of objects called the Vine collection. When you order a Vine Basket, Forust prints the object on demand.
“As a designer, I use a lot of wood and being able to use a product made from sawdust and lignin is an amazing resource,” Béhar said. “This new technology allows us to really address some of the critical problems around the environment and global warming that we are facing.”
Print a Chair, Save a Tree
Industries that use wood impact the environment in several ways. Deforestation damages ecosystems and reduces forests’ ability to consume carbon dioxide. Every year, millions of tons of sawdust create further environmental damage. Sawdust decomposing in landfills leaches lignin into the surrounding soil. And incinerated sawdust adds more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
Desktop Metal CEO Ric Fulop explained how protecting the environment was a key factor driving the development of Forust. “With Forust, we have the opportunity to have a meaningful impact on sustainability, climate change and waste issues that we as a humanity have brought to the planet.”
Forust’s technology solves two sides of the wood waste equation. By using sawdust as a raw material, the additive manufacturing process reduces the amount of sawdust going into landfills or up in smoke. And by letting companies print sawdust into finished products, Forust reduces the need to chop down more trees.
