February 10, 2025
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February 10, 2025
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Desktop Metal Launches Forust™ – A New Technology to 3D Print Wood Parts

Key Takeaways
3D printed wood
Above: Forust 3D printed wood tiles/Image Source: Forust

Desktop Metal, a leader in mass production additive manufacturing (AM) solutions, announced the launch of Forust™, a new process to sustainably produce functional end-use wood parts using its patented single pass binder jetting technology. The Forust process upcycles waste byproducts from wood manufacturing (cellulose dust) and the paper industry (lignin) and re-materializes functional wood parts through high-speed 3D printing including digital grain throughout the part.

Desktop Metal’s high-speed single pass binder jetting technology offers architects, designers and manufacturers a new path to produce luxurious custom wood pieces for home decor, interiors, transportation, and architectural design with a superior environmental footprint, new geometries and quality unavailable from subtractive wood manufacturing technology. Starting today, businesses and consumers can visit the Forust website, to order samples and custom wood designs, and manufacturers can engage with Forust to develop unique wood parts for their end-use products.

“The Forust technology allows us to take something that was previously wood waste and re-materialize it into exquisitely beautiful and useful things. We are honoring the cellulose and lignin of the trees by rearticulating them into assets for present and future generations. By allowing millions of trees to remain in place in their forests, Forust is launching a highly evolved technology for the circular technosphere that supports and celebrates stewardship of the natural, regenerative, and diverse biosphere, making it not only smart, but wise. This is a historic and material opportunity in the history of design and the making of things that reminds me of Arthur C. Clarke’s famous quote, ‘Any technology that is sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic.’ As a lover of wood and forests, I find Forust indistinguishable from magic. The 3D printing of wood using waste natural materials is a gamechanger. We have only begun to explore its beneficial potentials, but it is clear they are immense.”

– William McDonough, architect, globally-recognized leader in sustainable development and design, and pioneer of the concepts of Cradle to Cradle, the Circular Economy, and the Circular Carbon Economy

Benefits of Forust 3D Printed Wood Production Process

wood 3D printed samples
Above: Forust wood 3D printed samples/Image Source: Forust

Streamlined Production of Complex Wood Designs

Because Forust produces parts additively layer by layer without the need for supports, designers have the freedom to create complex features and iconic designs that would be difficult or impossible to produce with traditional woodworking methods.

High-Quality Materials and Finishes

Unlike particle board or laminate, Forust produces a wooden part with a digital grain that flows throughout the entire part that can be sanded and refinished. Software has the ability to digitally reproduce nearly any wood grain, including rosewood, ash, zebrano, ebony and mahogany, among others. Parts will also support a variety of wood stains at launch, including natural, oak, ash, and walnut.

Cost-Effective Carbon Footprint Reduction with On-Demand Manufacturing

single pass binder jetting
Above: Forust-configured Shop System/Image Source: Forust

Forust’s single pass binder jetting process and materials are designed to offer easy access to an end-to-end sustainable manufacturing solution. Manufacturers and designers can submit their own custom designs for printing, order samples or pursue high-volume partnerships to produce custom, 3D printed wood pieces in volume for use in their products. Additive manufacturing enables digital on-demand production, which minimizes material waste, on-the-shelf inventory, and shipping pollution while offering hand-crafted quality at an accessible price.

Jeffery added, “We want to make it easy for designers to explore complex new geometries for a wide variety of products and applications using an age-old material. At the end of the wood product’s life, we would like to see customers have two choices – dispose of it and it will biodegrade over time as any wood product would, or shred it and repurpose the material into future parts through Forust. Our vision is a true circular manufacturing process.”

“Applications for Forust’s wood parts are really limitless. There are many applications where polymers and plastics are used today where you can now cost-effectively replace with sustainably manufactured wood parts – luxurious, high-end components in interiors, consumer electronics, instruments, aviation, boats, home goods and eventually in flooring and exterior roofing applications. For the first time, we can produce beautiful parts with the same durability and characteristics you would have in traditionally manufactured wood, but printed using upcycled materials which does not require cutting down or harvesting trees. 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. For each tree saved, we are reducing the carbon footprint by a metric ton over its lifetime.”

Ric Fulop Founder and CEO of Desktop Metal

About Forust: Forust™, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Desktop Metal, makes high-volume additive manufacturing of end-use wood parts possible with stunning designs that are affordable and sustainable. Led by industry veteran and 3D printing pioneer, Andrew Jeffery, co-founder and CEO, Forust is based in Burlington, Massachusetts.


About Manufactur3D Magazine: Manufactur3D is an online magazine on 3D Printing. Visit our Tech News page for more updates on Global 3D Printing News. To stay up-to-date about the latest happenings in the 3D printing world, like us on Facebook or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Manufactur3D Team
Manufactur3D Team reports on the latest news, insights and analysis from the Indian and the Global 3D Printing Industry. They share updates from Industry leading companies to Startups and covers their latest developments.
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