3D FILAMENT RECYCLER
Overview
3D printing has become a common transformative technology, with a rapidly growing community. One of the main concerns with 3D printing is the amount of inevitable filament waste generated from prototyping, printing structural supports, and failing prints. Currently, there are products like our project on the market, however, our project provides an all-in-one package to recycle PLA (Polylactic Acid) waste directly. Many other products on the market require the PLA waste to be pre-processed before it can be recycled or require manual labor to process the PLA. The 3D printer filament recycler will intake PLA waste to be shredded and then will be processed to extrude out a consistent, continuous, and reusable roll of filament with a diameter of 1.75 mm within a ± 0.05 mm tolerance. The 3D printer filament recycler will be used at the fabrication laboratory (FAB Lab) at the College of Engineering & Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University, where about ten 3D printers run regularly. It has been recorded that the FAB Lab produced 10 kg of PLA waste within a month, which has now been collected for this project.
Community Benefit
3D printing has become a valuable technology for modeling, prototyping, and fabrication in many industries. The development of the 3D printer filament recycler will provide a method of recycling PLA (Polylactic Acid) waste, which will impact overall sustainability and the user’s or industry’s economy. The project will redirect something considered waste into usable PLA filament, and, therefore, reduce the amount of PLA that ends up in landfills. This, in turn, will provide efficiency in filament usage, saving the user from buying extra rolls of filament. A typical 1 kg roll of PLA filament can cost around $20 - $30, and an industry utilizing 3D printers regularly can benefit from our project. Our project is also comparatively affordable and more accessible than the products on the market. Overall, our project will benefit a range of consumers, hobbyists, corporations, or makerspaces in terms of their economy and sustainability.
Team Members
Sponsored By
FAU I-Sense, OURI, ZEFRA, INC.