There are not many standards in place as 3D printing is in its infant stages, and even more so recycling for 3D printing. Below are some potential standards and regulations that may be relevant to this project as it progresses.
Continue reading “Standards and Regulations”Interest in Recycling Filament
Looking through the comment sections of YouTube videos about filament recycling, it is evident that people are thinking about recycling their 3D printing scraps. They, such as myself, would rather store them for an undetermined amount of time and an unforeseeable date when they can be recycled, or at least NOT thrown in the garbage, despite not knowing anyone who is doing it locally or affordably. Here are some examples of things people are commenting on Make Anything’s Making my OWN Filament from Failed Prints with the 3Devo Composer video:
Continue reading “Interest in Recycling Filament”Tips for Extruding Filament
Extruding post-consumer plastic can by difficult. Depending on the extruder settings, filament brands (assuming its the same type of plastic), degrees of cleanliness, exposure to UV rays or other factors, how old the filament is, what humidity level(s) it was stored at/exposed to, if it has been recycled already, and many more.
Continue reading “Tips for Extruding Filament”Bioplastics
Although the word ‘bioplastic’ sounds like a more environmentally friendly alternative to the more standard petroleum-based plastic, it is not, at least in the short term. Only taking up 0.2% of the plastics market, bioplastics are not prevalent enough for companies and recycling facilities to devote resources to making them as sustainable as they could be (Filabot, 2018). This doesn’t mean we should avoid them.
Continue reading “Bioplastics”Filabot
Filabot is a company centered around plastic recycling for 3D printing. Founded in 2011 by Tyler McNaney, Filabot currently has two different filament extruder setups (with the components available separately as add-ons), and various other tools to help with the filament extrusion process available here on their website. The benefits of Filabot’s set-up compared to other brands is the quality and durability as well as the modular design, enabling the team to upgrade and add components as they go instead of overhauling a single machine which would be costly both time-wise and financially for them and the consumer.
Continue reading “Filabot”Users
3D printing is reaching more and more users every day. An estimated “6.7 million 3D printers [were] sold by the year 2020,” and that number continues to grow rapidly (Toor, 2019). With the degree of versatility and unlimited potential, 3D printing is being adopted into a number of industries and used daily.
Continue reading “Users”PLA (polylactic acid)
PLA is a biodegradable plastic made from natural resources, such as corn or other vegetables that contain a large amount of starch (long chains of sugar glucose). In corn (the most widely used crop in the creation of PLA), the kernels are processed and the endosperm is removed, ground into corn starch, fermented to create lactic acid, and the lactic acid is polymerized (chains linked to create a polymer) into polylactic acid (also known as polylactide).
Continue reading “PLA (polylactic acid)”3D Printing
It can change the whole paradigm of how our children will see innovation and manufacturing…
Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot