Dutch designer Lorenzo Hoorn uses industrial wood waste and thermoplastics to 3D print reinforced large objects.

In order to 3D print large objects from thermoplastics, the material needs to be reinforced with fibres. These fibres are often synthetic, made of glass or carbon.

Hoorn’s project explores the possibilities of using natural fibres instead. The advantage of using wood fibres is that the fibres are abundantly available from industrial waste streams, like sawing and milling. Because of this, the environmental impact compared to synthetic fibres are very low. In addition, by using 60-70 per cent wood in the compound, the need for plastic is reduced. The wood also gives the material a natural look and feel.

This material research project was in collaboration with 10XL.

Images via DDW