Bio-Armor

Building Strength from Wood By-Products

Scientists at the University of British Columbia’s BioMaterials Lab look for inspiration from designers like myself to invent ways of using exciting new materials made of bio-cellulose, a substance created from waste and scrap wood products during the manufacturing of goods.

Bio-cellulose can be processed in many forms. This densified regeneration process combined with high pressure casting creates a biological material substantially stronger than steel and other materials. Scientists are also able to produce the material to have more flexible properties if processed with additives.

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To recreate the material’s potential for hard and flexible structures, I used differing mixes of resin to hardener and layered them together. With this process I was able to create a proxy material which had both hard properties on the outer-layer for strength and a softer, flexible layer on the backing which gave it great range of movement.

Finding the final form required measuring my own torso dimensions, then creating a few options to choose from. Illustrator made creating patterns and measuring simple, allowing me to explore many possibilities.

The next step was 3D modeling the final design with SolidWorks, then creating a wood cast for a silicone mold. Wood cast made with CNC for precision. The silicone had an issue of tearing and it was later realized the porous wood was not allowing it to release properly. A new machined investment would need to be made using a non-porous material such as acrylic.

The timespan of this project did not allow for the finishing of a final 1:1 prototype, so I have created an AI generated representation of the final outcome.

Using generative AI we can imagine a broad range of possible applications for this material. With these new applications, widespread adoption will happen sooner. This tech can be adapted for use in steel-toe shoes, shin pads, helmets, and more!