(Alliance News) - SolidWorld Group Spa announced Thursday that it has begun distribution in Italy of the first 3D printer that uses wood powder as an additive material.

As the company explains, the SolidManufacturing division, based in Bentivoglio, in the province of Bologna, is handling the distribution.

The 3D printer model is the "Shop System Forust Edition" from the U.S. company Desktop Metal, the first in the World capable of using wood powder. From the combination of two by-products of the wood industry, namely lignin and sawdust, the machine can produce isotropic and sustainable wood parts from waste materials derived from trees used, for example, for house construction and furniture components.

Important areas of use include the automotive industry, where the 3D printer can make wooden car interior parts. The printer also makes it possible to produce objects or components for consumer sectors, interior design, furniture and musical instruments.

"The management and design of the printing through Desktop Metal's "Shop System Forust Edition" is digitized: the software owned by Solid World Group allows both the design of the parts to be printed and the management of the additive manufacturing process, giving the user the freedom to create the part and make it according to their needs," the company explained.

The first company to use this innovative printer in Italy is Trentino Sviluppo Spa, a system company of the Autonomous Province of Trento for business support, innovation and territorial marketing. It will be used within the laboratories of ProM Facility, the prototype development center at the Mechatronics Pole in Rovereto, for industrial research and innovation activities, as well as for prototyping components with this innovative technology. The printer is currently being installed and will be operational by early summer.

SolidWorld Group President Roberto Rizzo commented, "We have introduced in Italy a highly innovative and unprecedented technology capable of making objects and components from wood processing waste material. A technology that therefore aims to enhance a product that would otherwise be waste, with a view to making production processes more sustainable. 3D printing technology is capable of making a concrete contribution to the improvement of Italian industry in the perspective of the circular economy."

SolidWorld Group's stock is up 3.6 percent to EUR5.12 per share.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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