In Canada, Advanced BioCarbon 3D, developed wood waste-based bioplastic filament for use in 3D printing to help reach their mission of sustainable carbon-free plastics for 3D printing. Their new bioplastic product is non-flammable and moisture resistant and comes from poplar (or cottonwood) trees.
Darrel Fry, CEO of ABC3D, said, “People often think of bioplastics as single-use with low-value functionality, but our products are incredibly high-functioning with exceptionally high heat resistance while being lightweight … As an example, our goal is to be able to 3D print something like a piston for your car from this material – there’s such high heat resistance, and it’s also very strong.”
ABC3D is currently scaling production to begin sales in the first quarter of 2019. Fry told 3D Printing Industry, “We are targeting to have our sales in 3D filaments start in the first quarter of 2019 and then roll out a number of different filaments with additional characteristics such as carbon fiber reinforced filament, conductive filament and filaments that are reinforced with other wood fibers, beyond our first products, which are a blended traditional printing filament.”