GEHR, which mainly produces thermoplastic semi-finished products, has announced a new wood-based filament made from a sustainable material for 3D printing developed by Sulapac.
The Eco-fil-a-GEHR Wood filament comes from Sulapac’s Flow family of materials. It is made with recycled wood fibres mixed with biodegradable biopolymers. It’s said to produce parts that are lightweight with good dimensional stability and good elastic properties as well as having a natural look and feel. It’s also said to have a pleasant subtle odor coming from the natural wood it contains.
Joona Kontinen, Sulapac’s Innovation manager, adds, “The stability of the material is exceptional, and it works as well as or even better than other wood filaments or PLA.”
It has been certified industrially compostable by BPI, contains 72% USDA certified bio-based content, and leaves no permanent microplastic or toxic load behind. It complies with both EU and US requirements for food contact materials.
Giorgio Müller, sales and marketing director at GEHR, commented, “We saw a clear demand in the market for a sustainable wood filament, which meets our very strict quality requirements and can be used in food contact applications. ECO-FIL-A-GEHR Wood is unlike any other wood filament currently available and something many of our customers have been waiting for.”
It’s most likely to be used initially for prototyping for use with cosmetics but could also be used for decorative components and point-of-sale displays.
Sulapac describes its Flow v1.7 as a sustainable extrusion material that is “ideal for thin-walled structures like straws.” It has a tensile strength of MPs 33 and can take a tensile strain of 11%. It has a melting point of 151ºC and hardness of 84 on the Shore D scale.
Suvi Haimi, CEO and co-founder of Sulapac, concluded, “We are pleased to collaborate with GEHR, who as an established player in the industry with extensive know-how and experience in serving large cosmetic companies can provide significant added value for our cosmetic customers in 3D printing, but potentially also in many other areas.”
It’s available now. You can find further details and order the filament from gehr.com.
First published 19th May 2023 in the Printing and Manufacturing Journal. www.nessancleary.co.uk Republished by permission.
