Can you 3D print wood? Yves Behar’s line of decor uses 3D printed wood that’s as good as the original

They look like wood, feel like it too. Hell, they even have those grain patterns that you associate with wood, but don’t let your eyes or fingers be fooled. This line of homeware designed by Yves Behar’s fuseproject isn’t made from actual wood.

The technology you’re looking at lies within the domain of 3D printing, but it’s much more advanced than you’d think. Developed and pioneered by Forust, a subsidiary of Desktop Metal, this 3D printed material is a unique composite of recycled sawdust and bio-epoxy resin… but here’s where it gets interesting. Forust’s printers can actually print annular rings, knots, and grains into the printed wood. These details don’t exist on a surface level either. You can sand them and run a coat of polish over them and they’d look exactly like real wood.

Forust aims at disrupting the furniture industry by creating a more sustainable alternative to cutting down trees for ‘valuable’ hardwood. Instead, their additive manufacturing techniques can replicate any wood using simply wood waste. The result looks and feels like wood, and has strength similar to wood too. It can be readily worked, fastened, and finished with conventional wood finishing methods… and I wouldn’t be surprised if, by some miracle, it smelled like wood too! Take a look at some of Forust’s samples below.

To help create realistic proofs-of-concept of their game-changing technology, Forust partnered with fuseproject. Led by Yves Behar, the design studio debuted Vine, a collection of bowls and vases that helped showcase Forust’s revolutionary printing breakthroughs. “Vine’s simple and pure forms embody the core capabilities of Forust’s printing systems in its ability to create elegant, one-of-a-kind products. The collection adds a naturalistic feel to any home and perfect for storing those easy-to-misplace items. Each can be presented on its own or layered with other pieces on a console, coffee table, or entryway table, with or without botanicals or other items”, mentioned fuseproject’s team. “Vine’s curving, organic form juxtaposes against its dense but lightweight wood and bioresin composition that exhibits the same functionality and structural durability as conventional wood.” The Vine collection is available on Forust’s online store, and you can even upload your own designs and get them fabricated in Forust’s faux wood.

Designer: fuseproject for Forust