While no one wants to suck down a spoonful of Castor oil for medicinal purposes, its health properties for good, shiny hair have been much appreciated over the years. Now, we see another reason to award the bean-producing plant.
This article has been translated from the original, published by Materially.
The Austrian brand Neubau eyewear produces collections of elegant eyeglasses and sunglasses and is considered to be one of the leading frame producing companies using bioplastic materials.
The company has developed a process that produces oil from the castor plant that is subsequently pulverized.
The powder is deposited in different layers into a 3D-printing system (precisely SLS, selective laser sintering) in order to form the desired shape with millimeter precision.
Sintering allows, through the use of heat, the creation of a solid form by melting the material without reaching its liquefaction point.
The material thus obtained is called natural3D and is distinguished both by its physical and aesthetic properties from the plastic materials commonly used for the production of eyeglass frames.
Natural3D is up to 30% lighter than acetate and has excellent durability and elasticity performance, without forgetting a porous surface that is interesting to the touch and pleasing to the eye.
The importance of using an SLS process for the creation of Neubau eyewear frames is the total absence of material waste.
The use of this technology makes it possible to use only the powder strictly necessary during 3D printing, recovering any waste that can be reintroduced into the production process. Natural3D is therefore a material not only obtained from a renewable resource but whose use has a significantly reduced environmental footprint compared to the use of traditional chemical plastics.
After printing, the pigments are added to the frames through processes that can range from airbrushing to immersion dyeing or digital printing.
For 2020 Neubau eyewear wanted to combine its technological expertise in the use of sustainable materials with an elegant and trendy design.
Thus was born the Côte du Soleil line, made up of frames with a nostalgic 60s taste inspired by one of the iconic French films of those years, “La Piscine” by Jacques Deray.
Photo Credits: Courtesy of Neubau eyewear.
