WASP At It Again, This Time With 3D Printed Wooden Chair & Mycelium

The Italian WASProject says they’ve just completed a week’s worth of intensive print tests at Construmat, an Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia event in Barcelona. The group says they used the event to experiment with a variety of different materials and mixtures using their BigDelta 3D printer.

WASP also recently unveiled their Delta WASP 20 40 Turbo 3D Printer at the 3D Print Hub show in Milan, and has announced their plan to 3D print homes in third world countries using native soils as print material.

The company has been manufacturing 3D printers in Italy for the last couple of years, and their name stands for “World’s Advanced Saving Project.” WASP has developed a group of uniquely focused 3D printers such as the POWERWASP, a 3D printer and CNC milling machine in one, and the DeltaWASP, a delta-style 3D printer capable of utilizing a large array of materials.

The company says continuous research on material formulations is the driving force behind the continued improvement of their printers. They used a modified version of their “cochlea extruder,” a design which uses a rotating nozzle to permit more accurate deposition of fibers. WASP says the extruder design allows them to use a higher percentage of various materials in printing mixtures.

In fact, the company says a new version of that extruder was used to print a chair made of wood paste at Construmat. The wood mixture is composed of liquid glue, flour and sawdust, and the company says a local craftsman provided the team with a recycled material fiber that he uses in his shop, and that they printed it with a concrete paste.

WASP also took on yet another live experiment as they took mycelium mushrooms and extruded a support to help them grow. As mycelium materials are the base of choice for a variety of recent green building projects, the company says they discovered that the 100% compostable material they use has one additional benefit; it provides exceptional insulating properties – more so, they say, than even concrete. The group says they expect this new material can easily be used to reinforce structures as well.

What do you think of the Italian BigDelta printer using these novel materials? What items could you envision being printed with them? Let us know in the BigDelta Wood and Mycelium forum thread on 3DPB.com.  Check out the video of the printer in action below: