How 3D Printing Amazed the Stove Industry

For years the fireplace and stove industry had problems with ‘distance to combustibles’ like wooden beams and chambers but it wasn’t until 3D printing came along and changed the game.

The perfect complement for a traditional log burner, also known as a wood-burning stove is a rustic timber beam above the stove. There is a fire risk with this though, because the rule of thumb is that a timber beam shouldn’t be placed too close to the stove otherwise there could be the risk of it setting alight. This meant people had to place their beam very high above the stove but this didn’t look right. One designer overcame this complication by moulded a timber beam using 3D technology, creating a ‘geocast beam’. This is essentially a non-combustible beam that looks like real wood. The finishing techniques are only getting better, but there wouldn’t have ben this solution without 3D Printing technology.