3RT to offer digital wood production units

Sustainable hardwood products manufacturer 3RT is to have digital production units (pictured) manufactured to make its Designer Hardwood (pictured) range of value-added timber products.

The Adelaide company has developed a world-first technology in collaboration with Flinders University that converts wood waste into timber.

Designer Hardwood looks, feels and has the mechanical properties of 100 year old native timber and is 100 per cent natural.

At the heart of technology is a patented process using a water-based, formaldehyde-free “Nano-glue” that biomimics the structure of a natural tree in just one day.

3RT’s Innovation Center is credited with creating a sustainable, low impact substitute for tropical hardwood.

It received international recognition in the 2019 Good Design Awards competition by winning a gold medal for its concept of “Bespoke Wood”, which brings the concept of mass customisation into the hardwood industry.

Bosch Manufacturing Solutions will build fully automated production cells at its Clayton, Melbourne facility to enable Designer Hardwood production around the world.

3RT’s business model involves licensing the digital production units, enabling customers to convert forest or plantation residues into premium hardwood products.

A typical automated facility can be up and running within 12 months.

The President of Bosch Australia, Gavin Smith said the development with 3RT leveraged his company’s know-how in manufacturing, sensor technology, and software around the Internet of Things (IoT).

“At Bosch, we combine experience gained from our own manufacturing activities across more than 250 plants worldwide with our expertise as a leading provider of industrial IoT solutions.

“We are not only optimising our own manufacturing base, we are also actively seeking to work with partners like 3RT to enable the rise of digital industrial technology.”

The production cells Bosch will design and build for 3RT will be connected to other machines around Australia and the world.

Equipped with leading edge Industry 4.0 capability, the machines will collect data for the optimisation of processes and can be managed remotely.

The Bosch Manufacturing Solutions business recently announced construction of a new $17 million facility to support the expansion of its factory automation business in Australia.

Picture: 3RT

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