Researchers Use Mycelium & 3D Printing to Make Loudspeakers More Sustainable
Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Learning Technology (Fraunhofer IWU) is investigating the potential of mycelium as an effective, affordable, and sustainable material in loudspeaker construction. The researchers aim to process live mycelium using 3D printing, before influencing its growth to achieve both sound-reflecting and sound-absorbing properties. By altering environmental conditions, the properties could be specifically adjusted, creating foam-like structures to absorb sound and dampen vibrations along with solid and smooth structures for sound reflection. Mycelium could therefore be used both for loudspeaker housings and as an insulating material. This technique could reduce the cost of producing transmission line loudspeakers, which are expensive and complex as they contain a pipe up to three metres long to provide bass and reduce resonance. This pipe must …
