Laura Griffiths speaks to Galy Levy, Head of R&D at Balena, a fabric science firm, creating high-performance biopolymers, about constructing a round vogue financial system with 3D printing and sustainable supplies, and partnering with modular 3D dressmaker Brigitte Kock of Variable Seams.
TCT: Balena labored with Variable Seams to co-create a group of versatile, ready-to-wear 3D printed clothes. What was your shared imaginative and prescient?
GL: Our collaboration with Variable Seams was pushed by a shared ambition to redefine the boundaries of vogue by 3D printing, biobased supplies, and sustainability. Collectively, we aimed to display how 3D printing can create versatile, ready-to-wear clothes which might be each versatile, sturdy, wearable, and absolutely round. By leveraging Balena’s BioCir Flex3D materials, we mixed technical excellence with a sustainable lifecycle, showcasing how cutting-edge supplies and computational design can revolutionise the best way vogue is produced and consumed. On the coronary heart of our imaginative and prescient is a dedication to creating a greater, extra sustainable future for vogue.
TCT: The gathering is made utilizing Balena’s compostable BioCirflex3D materials. Are you able to inform us in regards to the make-up of this materials and its distinctive attributes?
GL: BioCir Flex3D is a game-changer for sustainable design. It’s a biobased, compostable materials with a rubber-like texture that gives power, flexibility, and agility. What makes it so particular is that it’s derived from sustainable sources like castor beans and polysaccharides, making certain it’s each purposeful and environmentally accountable. At Balena, we’ve developed a novel formulation that blends biodegradable polymers, naturally occurring bio-based elements, and different biodegradable modifiers. This mix doesn’t simply make our supplies round; it additionally ensures distinctive sturdiness and performance. What’s thrilling about BioCir Flex3D is how versatile it’s. It’s designed to twist, flex, and stand up to influence, which means it not solely lasts longer but in addition opens up new inventive potentialities for designers. Its print-ready properties enable for exact, on-demand manufacturing, making it the proper alternative for creating future-forward designs.
TCT: Are you able to elaborate on what this proposed round journey seems like?
GL: At Balena, we’re constructing a really round system that offers manufacturers full management over the lifecycle of their merchandise. This implies offering multi-end-of-life options, the place supplies can both be recycled or biodegrade on demand. By means of our end-of-life community, we join manufacturers to a streamlined course of for recycling, composting, and biodegradation, making it simpler than ever to transition from creation to disposal whereas absolutely closing the loop. Our BioCir supplies are designed to contribute to this imaginative and prescient of a round financial system. For instance, BioCir Flex3D is licensed industrially compostable, assembly international requirements like ASTM D6400-04 and EN 13432. This ensures that the fabric biodegrades quick and safely in managed composting amenities. On the identical time, it’s absolutely recyclable, which means it may be reprocessed and reintegrated into new manufacturing cycles, serving to to cut back the necessity for virgin materials and attaining zero post-industrial waste. Particularly in 3D printing, the place there’s quite a lot of trial and error, we’ve proven how these round ideas work in apply. Through the growth course of, the fabric was not solely examined but in addition recycled and reprinted, proving its sturdiness and flexibility. This venture showcases how a totally round journey might be achieved, even in advanced processes like additive manufacturing.
TCT: How attainable is that this way forward for round vogue economies?
GL: A totally round textile vogue business is completely attainable, however it requires collective effort throughout the complete worth chain. At Balena, we’re enabling this future by creating modern supplies like our BioCir vary, that are designed for recyclability and compostability. What’s distinctive is that these supplies combine seamlessly into current manufacturing processes, permitting manufacturers to transition to round practices with out the necessity for an entire overhaul.
That mentioned, attaining this imaginative and prescient goes past supplies—it requires collaboration between materials innovators, designers, and producers, together with stronger rules and rising client demand for sustainable options. Infrastructure for assortment and recycling continues to be a problem, however developments in know-how and partnerships like ours are proving {that a} round financial system isn’t simply an concept—it’s scalable and inside attain. Progress could take time, however with the precise techniques and dedication, the style business can absolutely embrace circularity.
TCT: Traditionally, 3D printed vogue has taken the type of wearable ideas or equipment somewhat than absolutely wearable clothes. What does this venture present us in regards to the potential way forward for sustainable vogue?
GL: This venture represents a groundbreaking step in 3D printed vogue, transferring past equipment and ideas to create absolutely wearable clothes that mix performance, consolation, and sustainability. Traditionally, supplies utilized in 3D printing have been too inflexible or brittle for sensible put on, however with the event of BioCir Flex3D, we’ve launched a fabric that gives the pliability and sturdiness required for ready-to-wear functions. From a technical standpoint, this venture is a milestone in integrating additive manufacturing with sustainable materials science. It showcases the potential for exact, on-demand manufacturing, waste discount, and circularity by compostable and recyclable supplies. That is just the start of what’s attainable when cutting-edge supplies and know-how converge to reshape the business.
TCT: What are your ideas on supplies as an enabling power for 3D printing innovation?
GL: Supplies are undeniably the driving power behind the evolution of 3D printing, transitioning the know-how from prototyping to creating purposeful, real-world functions. The mechanical properties, flexibility, and sustainability of supplies dictate the scope of what might be achieved, particularly in industries like vogue, the place sturdiness and wearability are important. At Balena, we’ve skilled this firsthand with BioCir Flex3D. Its distinctive mixture of flexibility, influence absorption, and round properties not solely facilitates modern design but in addition permits scalable, sustainable manufacturing. This materials’s biobased composition ensures compatibility with round financial system ideas, whereas its print-ready properties streamline manufacturing for each precision and effectivity. As materials science advances, we count on to see enhancements in power, elasticity, and processability that can push 3D printing into new territories. These developments will unlock functions starting from absolutely wearable clothes to industrial-scale manufacturing, making certain that 3D printing turns into a key know-how for sustainable innovation. The way forward for 3D printing depends on supplies that may seamlessly combine efficiency, versatility, and environmental duty, and their ongoing evolution will redefine what’s achievable throughout industries
TCT: You’re additionally utilizing desktop FDM machines, which I believe typically we are able to underestimate the ability of! Why did you select these applied sciences?
GL: We selected desktop FDM machines as a result of they strike a great stability of accessibility, precision, and scalability, completely aligning with the targets of this venture. FDM know-how permits us to totally optimise the distinctive properties of BioCir Flex3D—flexibility, sturdiness, and printability— whereas providing value effectivity and flexibility. These machines are broadly obtainable, usually present in households, making them accessible for designers and types to experiment with sustainable 3D printing with out requiring specialised tools.
FDM machines additionally excel in speedy prototyping, enabling exact changes to materials efficiency, wearability, and settings like infill patterns and layer adhesion. Whereas we’ve centered on FDM for its accessibility, BioCir Flex3D is flexible sufficient to work throughout varied 3D printing applied sciences, together with industrial-scale techniques. This ensures compatibility with each customary and superior workflows, demonstrating that round supplies like BioCir Flex3D can ship scalable, sustainable options for numerous industries.
TCT: Balena has labored on quite a few initiatives inside the vogue sector. Are you able to share extra on these initiatives or plans for future ones?
GL: Completely. One in all our current collaborations was with Bruno Tognin, a trailblazer in 3D-printed vogue. Collectively, we explored the transformative potential of BioCir Flex3D, by designing a groundbreaking 3D printed high that demonstrates how sustainable supplies might be crafted for immediately’s wants and recycled into tomorrow’s creations. This venture is just the start. Utilizing his modern recycling equipment, Bruno will take the identical high and reimagine it into a completely new design later in 2025, showcasing how BioCir Flex3D empowers designers to create, recycle, and push the boundaries of sustainable vogue. We’re so enthusiastic about what’s subsequent— this is only one instance of the thrilling collaborations we now have within the pipeline. Balena is dedicated to driving innovation within the 3D printing and vogue industries, and there’s way more to come back.
This text initially appeared inside TCT Europe Version Vol. 33 Challenge 1 and TCT North American Version Vol. 11 Challenge 1. Subscribe right here to obtain your FREE print copy of TCT Journal, delivered to your door six instances a 12 months.
