WYVE and its 3D printed eco-surfboards

WYVE, previously known as HEXA Surfboard, is a young French company that has relied on 3D printing to design surfboards that are more environmentally friendly, customizable and with a transparent design. Aware of today’s ecological problems, the brand is totally rethinking the way it produces and distributes its boards by promoting local manufacturing, close to surf spots. It uses recycled and recyclable plastic waste to create tailor-made boards where the honeycomb core of the boards has been 3D printed. This allows the company to use less material whilst optimizing the solidity of its boards. We met the team to learn more about the process of designing a board and the impact of 3D printing on the surfing world.

3DN: Can you introduce yourself and your relationship with 3D technologies?

We are Léo, Sylvain and Mylène, friends for 10 years, passionate surfers and all three engineers by training. We are the co-founders of WYVE, a brand that is rethinking the way surfboards are made and distributed, notably thanks to 3D technologies. As engineers, we were introduced to digital modeling and optimization at an early age, but it’s really when we started prototyping our first surfboards that we were able to gain real expertise in 3D printing. We had the chance to prototype at the Fablab of the Ecole Polytechnique where we were able to train on a large 3D printer. In a few months, we were able to learn a lot and share our expertise with the other project leaders who were prototyping there.

The WYVE team | Credits: EuroSIMA – Stephane Robin

3DN: Why did you create WYVE?

If more than 80% of surfers feel very concerned about the future of oceans and the climate, especially when it comes to surfing, they are not ready to make any concessions on the performance of their equipment. The younger generation is all the more ready to combine ecology and innovation in their consumption for a simple, fluid and online experience.