MAR 15

Wood floors aren't normally what you would think of as high tech. But a Dutch company called Bolefloor is using computers and CNC production to produce attractive and distinctive wood flooring that maximizes the amount of wood used. By scanning the wood and then using computer algorithms to calculate how best to cut the wood, unique floors with curving patterns can be produced that fits together like a jigsaw puzzle and minimizes waste.

According to the company, the technology used in this process maximizes the yield of usable wood flooring by using "wood scanning systems, tailor-made CAD/CAM developments and innovative optimization algorithms for placement software developed by a Finnish engineering automation company and three software companies in cooperation with the Institute of Cybernetics at Tallinn University of Technology." In addition to determining how to fit together the pieces of wood, the software also takes into account imperfections in the wood near edges or ends, so that the floor will be more durable.

I'm not completely sold on the idea that this is leads to a significant savings of wood. But, for the wood that is used, this aproach should allow some further use of material from each log and the ability to use smaller logs, as well.

Each floor needs to be custom produced using this system, which limits its applicability for off the shelf projects. But, if the need for a repair arises, the fabrication of a replacement piece should be easy to accomplish, using the same file that was used to create the original piece to fabricate a copy.

If you are interested in maximizing production volume, this certainly wouldn't be the way to go. Efficiency is all about straight and regular. But if your definition of sustainability means 'taking care of what you have,' then creating something unique and beautiful that will encourage its owners to care for it and maintain it so it lasts, then this is a wonderful sustainable material.

More example images from the company site.

via: BoingBoing

Comments (13)

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renewable energy sources
written by Sharon Mathew, March 16, 2011

Making the maximum use of the wood by this method is really interesting. It is a very good effort which can also help us to conserve other sources of energy.

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beautiful!
written by keg, March 16, 2011

and man, is it beautiful. i would like this in my dream home, please.

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But what about..,
written by Tem, March 16, 2011

...IKEA? Where would they get all the wood waste to make particle board.

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"I'm not completely sold on the idea that this is leads to a significant savings of wood."
written by William Berg, March 16, 2011

I can't say how much waste there is in this process but it looks better than what I've seen. I used to work my summers in college in a wood flooring factory and I can say without a doubt that there is a significant amount of waste in making uniform, straight flooring pieces.

That said, every ounce of the leftover cuttings was sold off to other companies to be used for other purposes, so nothing was really 'wasted'

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custom modular?
written by sarah, March 17, 2011

are there typical room sizes that could be built for? say a standard 10 x 12 room that you could buy in a bundle, Trim the two outside pieces flat to mesh with the wall and make a lovely little piece of rustic looking shelving out of the cut offs. While a lot of rooms are not exact, seems many of them are based on square cut 8' boards and 16" spacing (at least in the US)so, one could imagine, there could be a few standard pre-made sizes.

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Repairs?
written by Captain TickTock, March 17, 2011

They're probably more likely to scan the broken board to cut a new one. I can see it being way more expensive than straight-cut wood

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looks good
written by Eli, March 25, 2011

I like the look, it's definitely adds to the style, but as with any products being "green" I think this will carry a hefty pricetag and as for the obvious, installing wood floors will be a puzzle. I think the aesthetic appearance is what at the end will sell this product, more than anything else

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...
written by Sobhan, May 10, 2011

only in europe
I hope it comes to America some day.

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compelling
written by Daniela, May 25, 2011

The organic shapes these make are really unique and compelling, though I wonder what the implications are if you ever needed to repair the planks, lack of uniformity does make them less modular.

I'm curious why the author names "maximizing production volume" as a sustainability feature, that seems unrelated to the premise that you can maximize material use with new forms.

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Floor Vancouver
written by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , August 09, 2011

I don't like the curved lines, but if it means going green, then I'm all for it.

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...
written by Charlotte, August 18, 2011

I don't think it would save much wood, seeing as scraps are used for other things, but it sure looks cool. if it was reasonably priced I would definitely use it!

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Wood Floors
written by Express Flooring, March 08, 2012

Hardwood flooring not only increases the beauty if a house, it also increases the property value of it.

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Does this really work?
written by Engineered Hardwood Floors, April 19, 2012

I just can't see how this method can signifincatly reduce waiste.

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