NEFFA is the ground breaking automated manufacturing method allowing for custom-made textile products. Biomass is robotically applied around affordable, configurable and recyclable 3D molds. This patented process gives you unprecedented design freedom to create silhouettes and textures that were never possible before with traditional manufacturing processes.
Our material sits in between leather and plastic / fake leather. Its flexibility can be custom-designed to fit the final product. In terms of the end result, our modeling process can be compared to injection moulding, but then made out of natural materials (and not plastics).
Made of
100% mycelium or 96% mycelium / 4% rayon viscose (biodegradable)
The production process
We have a 3-step manufacturing method:
1) An automated 3D design process to create affordable, configurable and/or recyclable molds. The time line depends on the (complexity of the) final design.
2) A liquid fermentation process to grow the mycelium. Our mycelium grows within 3 to 8 days, depending on the scale of the bioreactor.
3) A robotic application method to create the final textile product. This happens in a couple of hours, depending on the size of the product.
The final product is biodegradable of even home compostable.
Currently, the textile industry creates between 10 to 30% production waste, and 85% of all textiles end up in landfill.
Applied
Currently: Interior objects like lighting or wall panels, fashion products like accessories and small apparel items, all items that fall within the dimensions of 40 x 40 x 60cm. In the future bigger objects are possible.
Environmental impact
Our products are made directly in 3D, eliminating the need for cutting and sewing, saving on 10 to 30% production waste. Production of both material and end products are done locally, there is no need to ship materials around the globe. We use only food-grade ingredients. Dyeing is done by adding pigments directly into the biomass, there is no need for a tanning procedure.
Also nice!
When light shines through the textured mycelium objects, it shows the pattern really nicely, making it very suitable for a variaty of lighting objects like lighting or wall panels for example.
Growth opportunities
The first robot cell is set-up with products in the maximum size range of 40 x40 x 60 cm (in 3D). In the future we will make a second set-up to be able to produce larger items for interior and apparel.