Collaborate Disseminate
A lot of work goes into creating wooden objects like furniture, with the timber needing to be harvested, treated, cut into shape and finished. Some scientists are rethinking this process with some interesting results, and researchers from the Hebrew Un… Continue reading Printable wood flour forms complex shapes as it dries
Say what you will about [Thomas Edison], but it’s hard to deny the genius of his self-proclaimed personal favorite invention: the phonograph. Capturing sound as physical patterns on a malleable …read more Continue reading Wooden You Like to Hear a CNC-Cut Phonograph Record?
Chopping down trees and processing the wood isn’t the most efficient or environmentally friendly way to make furniture or building materials. Scientists at MIT have now made breakthroughs in a process that could one day let us 3D print and grow wood di… Continue reading Lab-grown plant matter marks a step towards 3D-printable wood
A huge chunk of energy usage goes towards heating and cooling homes and buildings, so it’s important to find new ways to regulate temperature passively. Engineers in China and Germany have developed a new wood-based foam that can drastically cool build… Continue reading Wood-based foam passively cools buildings to cut energy bills
It used to be that when we featured one of [Frank Olson]’s DIY ribbon microphone builds, it was natural to focus on the fact that he was building them almost …read more Continue reading Falling Down the Labyrinth With Wooden Microphone Design
While we may think of wood as being earthy and natural, wooden materials such as plywood and particleboard typically contain formaldehyde-based adhesives that give off toxic fumes. Such is not the case with a new adhesive, however, which is made from g… Continue reading Sugar and citric acid used to create nontoxic plywood glue
Don’t feel bad if you don’t know what Cistercian numbers are. Unless you’re a monk of the Order of Cistercia, there’s really no reason for you to learn the cipher …read more Continue reading Number Like It’s 1234 AD With This Cistercian Keypad
A problem facing architects when designing complex three-dimensional structures lies in their joints, which must be strong enough to take the loads and vector forces applied by the structure, yet …read more Continue reading Tree Forks As Natural Composite Joints In Architecture
It’s a sad fact that even though our forests are disappearing at an alarming rate, new wooden structures are typically made of all-new wood. A special computer system could help change that, by facilitating the use of wood reclaimed from existing build… Continue reading Computer system designs structures based on available reclaimed wood
While all non-recyclable plastics aren’t very eco-friendly, expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam is particularly problematic, as it’s bulky and frequently used in disposable packaging. It could one day be replaced by a new biodegradable material, however, m… Continue reading Sawdust-based material could be an eco-friendly alternative to EPS foam