3Wood – Designer Hardwood

The 3Wood digital production unit and product met several challenges: 1. To create a new hardwood by using abundantly available young plantation logs destined for woodchips, to address global shortages of native wood supply and help protect native forests. 2. Mimic the natural look and feel of native hardwoods, whose main applications are in the premium furnishing industries. 3. Design a robotic production unit (fully automated - Industry 4.0) to allow production of 3Wood at a lower cost than native hardwood, with the possibility for the unit to design its own 'Bespoke Wood'. 4. Sustainability : non-toxic and recyclable. No harmful anything.

The 3Wood digital production unit is a compact '21st century sawmill' in a plug-and-play format, with connectivity for remote areas. It transforms young plantation logs into beautiful hardwood timbers at half the price of native hardwoods but with the same performance properties. The 3Wood team used nanotechnology and materials science to formulate a patented non-toxic, water-based 'Nano glue' that mimics the natural growing process in 1 day rather than the 100 years of natural growing. Advanced Robotics and Industry 4.0 Smart Production deliver efficient and safe wirelessly-controlled manufacturing of 'bespoke' designer hardwoods. Essentially designed by man and made by robots.

3Wood addresses global problems of waste and forest conservation. Traditional sawmills use 100 year-old native hardwoods, with almost 70% becoming sawing waste. 3RT’s production unit uses young plantation trees that are 5 years-old, destined for woodchips, with minimal waste. The production unit is 'plug-and-play,' with remote control to allow production in remote areas, close to the plantation sources, thereby allowing a reduced carbon footprint : 'Source local - Produce local - Sell local'. The Industry 4.0 capabilities of the production unit enable the design of 'bespoke' wood, so designers can create new wood designs - never seen before but with native hardwood properties.

This is an integrated materials and manufacturing solution, replicating nature as close as possible without using any harmful ingredients. The technology has globally granted patents, highlighting further its uniqueness . The patented Nano glue is a bio-mimicking substance which performs exactly like the natural resins found in 100 year old hardwood. It allows us to produce in 1 day, a process that takes nature a lifetime - without any toxic substances. It is fully recyclable. Through science and advanced automation, the process combines countless textures and properties to design and produce the perfect wood for each customer - quickly and cost-effectively. This concept of 'Bespoke Wood' allows customers to create their own ‘designer' hardwood, combining any available species, offering multiple options for end grain pattern and producing it to any density required. This technology has the potential to give 3Wood greater resistance to termites, UV light, water and fire resistance, thereby further eliminating today's use of toxic coatings. This technology is clean and tidy. There is no dust, no fumes and no waste in the production unit.