Anybody using cellulose for 3D printing? Need to have more information on it. I have tried to google it, but haven’t come up with much info. Products that can be printed using cellulose can range from furniture, textile yarn, fabric, paper based products…
Isn’t cellulose pretty explosive in some forms?
I know it’s the leftover from making oil from algae .
the nitrate form was explosive. However other forms of cellulose such as acetate polymer have been used in the textile industry for decades. Cellulose in its polymer form and cellulose fibre have been used in wide range of applications such as paper products, building material, fillers in pharmaceuticals, food supplements to name a few. Cellulose and cellulose fibre is freely available in plants and other organic matter.
It can be a versatile raw material which is not expensive too. I think the potential will be tremendous when coupled with 3D printing.
@Understanding_3D_Pri Thanks for the input. Check out my comment.
@Jacob_Merrill thanks .check out my comment. Your inputs are appreciated.
Not pure cellulose, but sawdust has been mixed in plastic filament: http://www.tridimake.com/2012/10/review-wood-filament.html?m=1
@Elim_Mashariki google usually does a good job of telling people that others have commented on posts they’ve contributed to without the extra +ing. 
Well, some cellulose esters are thermoplastics, so it should be possible to use them in 3D printing in theory. I don’t know how useful they would be in practice, since I don’t know a whole lot about their properties, but there is some interest in using them as a commercial thermoplastic because they will biodegrade when they’re no longer useful.
It seems like it could be an interesting material to explore a bit more. If you’re interested in exploring the idea in theory or even in practice, try looking into cellulose acetate. That should be a good starting point.
I’ve printed in wood flour + weldwood urea resin glue, on my Z406 powder printer. See also http://open3dp.me.washington.edu/ which is where I get a lot of starter recipes.
Yes, there is a lot of scope for cellulose /cellulose fibre to be used as raw materials, besides it is commercially available. Even paper mills produce it using wood as raw material to make woodpulp which is then converted to paper.
Hi Elim, I recently spend some postdoc time at http://www.chalmers.se. I remember having seen some ad’s where they were looking for PhD’s/Postdocs working on exactly this topic. So have a look at their research, one guy who I know is working on many aspects of new cellulose applications is Prof. P. Gatenholm
Cheers
Cerllulose has been chemically altered to create forms of Rayon for over a hundred years. Unfortunately there are some harsh chemicals involved. Look up Viscose.
very interesting! I visited site and got a link to one interesting application: Biopolymers. The link is: http://www.chalmers.se/sv/institutioner/chem/Forskning/tillampadkemi/Sidor/Biopolymerteknologi.aspx
Although only a small brief introduction on the subject and see applications for 3D printing. Thanks for the info Lorenz!
Have you ever looked at the material physics for why a sea shell is so strong for its weight? I wish we could print things like that
A valid observation. Besides chemical composition of materials, the structure of sea shells also contributes to their toughness and strength. It is the brick like interlocking structure which makes them tough. Both these points are considered in the design of the final product i.e. chemical composition & structure.
Shells are another example of bi-component materials like old bows made with horn and tendons and modern bows with glass and/or carbon fiber. Some people are experimenting with fibers mixed into plastics or cement. A Kickstarter team (Protoplant) is releasing fine chopped carbon fiber in ABS. for interesting properties. They also have a plastic that can be heat treated to make it stiffer. We live in wonderful times.