Forust
Desktop Metal®
FORUST
Wood can be shaped into almost any form.
The biomimicry of wood grain all the way through.
Powered by Desktop Metal®'s binder jetting 3D printing technology, Forust is a sustainable alternative for traditional wood manufacturing. By combining the speed, precision, and quality of binder jetting with two wood waste byproducts - sawdust and lignin, you can now produce strong and lightweight wood components that take advantage of 3D printing's design freedom and offer a reduction in your carbon footprint with a responsible material value chain.
Get to Net-Zero
with 3D Printing
Worldwide, every year, 15 billion trees are cut down to produce paper, build homes or make furniture. The resulted waste from wood cutting and processing continues to affect our environment. Due to Desktop Metal®’s innovative Binder Jetting™ technology, it is now possible to produce isotropic, high-strength, and sustainable wood parts for many industries while helping in building a greener and sustainable future. How? Forust combines two wood industry key derivates: sawdust and lignin, to create beautiful end-use products by 3D printing.
Environmental Impact
Annually, millions of tons of wood waste are generated. A part of it is being recovered and sold to downstream markets for the production of particleboard or wood pallets for energy. The remaining sawdust is either burned or sent to landfills – having a tremendous negative impact on the environment, despite its biodegradability.
The sawdust releases high concentrations of lignin and fatty acids as it decomposes. This leads to contaminated water supplies, with the risk of poisoning the wildlife and other microorganisms.
Forust’s contribution
Forust’s environmental impact is twofold – significantly reducing the amount of sawdust sent to landfills or incineration by processing it for 3D printing, and combating deforestation by producing sustainable products from wood waste.
From consumer goods in any retail store to luxury automotive and home interiors, with the help of the Forust process, the printed parts are durable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly.
Advantages
Production of Complex Wood Designs
3D printing opens a new design space for wood-based products. Because parts are formed layer by layer without the need for supports, designers can optimize parts and create complex features which would be difficult – if not impossible – to achieve with traditional woodworking methods.
High-Quality Materials and Finishes
From Ash to Zebrano, Ebony to Mahogany, the Forust 3D printing process is able to mimic almost any wood grain. Forust makes 3D printed digitally rematerialized wood with grain that flows across the entire part which can be sanded or refinished.
Cost-Effective Carbon Footprint Reduction
Forust processes and materials are designed to make it easy and cost-effective for manufacturers to produce sustainable wood parts.
Turnkey End-to-End Wood 3D Printing
Batch Production
The Forust-configured Shop System™ features a compact, high-speed, single-pass print engine, and it is ideal for batch-production of small- to medium-sized wood parts.
Build size: 350 x 220 x 200 mm (13.8 x 8.7 x 7.9 in)
Throughput: Print speed of 1,600 cc/hr. That is about 21 mm or ⅘ of an inch in Z-height per hour.
The full FORUST wood 3D printing solutions includes:
- Fabricate MFG build prep software, which allows users to print parts with no grain pattern or four-grain patterns that can replicate ash, mahogany, and more.
- Shop System Forust Edition binder jet 3D printer with a build box of 350 x 220 x 200 mm (13.8 x 8.7 x 7.9 in) and a print speed of 1,600 cc/hr. That is about 21 mm or ⅘ of an inch in Z-height per hour.
- Forust Powder Station, which allows users to remove printed parts from the build box and recover loose sawdust powder for immediate reuse in the printer.
- Forust Wood Powder, a special blend of raw or unfinished maple and oak sawdust from the traditional wood milling industry.
- Forust Binder, which comes in clear and brown colors to bind wood powder particles and create natural-looking wood grain patterns that flow across the entire part.
- A wood parts post-process guide that walks users through a recommended workflow for infiltrating parts after 3D printing with USDA certified bio-based resins.
Applications
Luxury interiors
By FORUST
Forust can create sustainable rematerialized wood parts in a wide range of materials including rare and exotic grain structures.
Application
- Automotive
- Luxury vehicles’ interiors
- Architecture
- High-end homes
Technology/Process
Desktop Metal’s Binder Jetting™ Technology
Furniture
By Forust
Due to the Forust process, endless design possibilities and complex geometries are now possible even for furniture manufacturers.
Full Description
They can manage digital inventories and fulfill orders on-demand due to the cost-effective tooling-free production ensured by Desktop Metal’s binder jetting technology.
Technology/Process
Desktop Metal’s Binder Jetting™ Technology
Architecture
By Forust
Architects can create unique decorative panels and other architectural accents utilizing CAD tools and generative design.
Application
- Architecture
- Decorative panels
- High-end homes accents
Technology/Process
Desktop Metal’s Binder Jetting™ Technology
Consumer goods
By Forust
Designers can explore new geometries and applications for an age-old material that can be used in consumer products.
Application
- Consumer goods
Technology/Process
Desktop Metal’s Binder Jetting™ Technology
Materials
Wood grains
Parts printed with the Forust process can be finished to mimic many wood species such as natural, oak, teak, and walnut.
Grainless wood
Forust can also produce in a unique way grainless material thus providing a base for yet to come post-processing or a neutral aesthetic for end-use parts.
Custom development
Digital reproduction of rare, exotic, and endangered wood species can be developed for custom-based wood grains and finishes.
Material Performance
Forustwood is a composite of wood particles encased in a bio-epoxy resin, with a strength similar to wood. It can be readily worked, fastened and finished with conventional wood finishing methods.
Flexural strength |
Flexural strength90 MPa |
Flexural modulus |
Flexural modulus2.3 GPa |
Density |
Density0.60 - 1.2 g/cm3 |