Material	Precompressed wood
	Precompressed wood can be obtained basically from any type of wood, through a method that forms it 3-dimensionally, giving furniture designers new possibilities. The wood is prepared for further processing in two stages. First, the wood's fibres are mollified by means of steam, rendering the wood plastic. Then, a compression process folds the fibres like an accordion and shortens the wood (20%). After the compression, the wood recontracts to 95% of its original length. At this stage, the wood is extremely easy to form during several hours, with the use of simple or even no tools at all. When fixed in a form, the wood can be dried, re-establishing its former strength, impact resistance and flexibility.
Category	Wood, Processed wood
Products	Chair, precompressed wood
References	DTI, Wood Technology Danmarks Designskole CompwoodTM Machines Ltd. A/S Davinde Savværk A/S
Environmen- tal notes	No chemicals are needed for the forming process.
Additional Info	Surface finishing processes before drying are very difficult due to the humidity of the wood. Furthermore, finishing processes have to be performed manually, which makes the industrial use of the material more expensive.
Photo	Ole Akhøj
Copyright	© 1996-2019 Torben Lenau This page is part of Design inSite Disclaimer