Fused particle fabrication (FPF) (or fused granular fabrication (FGF)) has potential for increasing recycled polymers in 3-D printing. Here, the open source Gigabot X is used to develop a new method to optimize FPF/FGF for recycled materials. Virgin polylactic acid (PLA) pellets and prints were analyzed and were then compared to four recycled polymers including the two most popular printing materials (PLA and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)) as well as the two most common waste plastics (polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP)). The size characteristics of the various materials were quantified using digital image processing. Then, power and nozzle velocity matrices were used to optimize the print speed, and a print test was used to maximize the output for a two-temperature stage extruder for a given polymer feedstock. ASTM type 4 tensile tests were used to determine the mechanical properties of each plastic when they were printed with a particle drive extruder system and were compared with filament printing. The results showed that the Gigabot X can print materials 6.5× to 13× faster than conventional printers depending on the material, with no significant reduction in the mechanical properties. It was concluded that the Gigabot X and similar FPF/FGF printers can utilize a wide range of recycled polymer materials with minimal post processing.
- Just the code: https://osf.io/fsjk9/
- All source files for Gigabot X
- https://re3d.org/
- re3D on SketchFab
Keywords[edit | edit source]
Circular economy; Distributed recycling; Energy conservation; Polymer recycling; Sustainable development; distributed manufacturing; life cycle analysis; recycling; recyclebot; 3-D printing; Open source hardware; Open hardware; RepRap; Recycling; Polymers; Plastic; Recyclebot; Waste plastic; Composites; Polymer composites; Extruder; Upcycle; Materials science;additive manufacturing; distributed manufacturing; open-source; waste plastic; extruder; upcycle
See also[edit source]
RepRapable Recyclebot and the Wild West of Recycling[edit source]
Recycling Technology[edit source]
- Recyclebot
- RepRapable Recyclebot: Open source 3-D printable extruder for converting plastic to 3-D printing filament
- Open Source 3-D Filament Diameter Sensor for Recycling, Winding and Additive Manufacturing Machines
- Improving recyclebot concepts
- 3-D Printable Polymer Pelletizer Chopper for Fused Granular Fabrication-Based Additive Manufacturing
- Mechanical Properties of Direct Waste Printing of Polylactic Acid with Universal Pellets Extruder: Comparison to Fused Filament Fabrication on Open-Source Desktop Three-Dimensional Printers
- Fused Particle Fabrication 3-D Printing: Recycled Materials' Optimization and Mechanical Properties
- Multi-material distributed recycling via material extrusion: recycled high density polyethylene and poly (ethylene terephthalate) mixture
- Mechanical Properties and Applications of Recycled Polycarbonate Particle Material Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing
- Wood Furniture Waste-Based Recycled 3-D Printing Filament
- Solar powered distributed customized manufacturing
- Mechanical Properties of Ultraviolet-Assisted Paste Extrusion and Postextrusion Ultraviolet-Curing of Three-Dimensional Printed Biocomposites
- Open Source Waste Plastic Granulator
- Open-Source Grinding Machine for Compression Screw Manufacturing
- Sustainability and Feasibility Assessment of Distributed E-Waste Recycling using Additive Manufacturing in a Bi-Continental Context
- Finding Ideal Parameters for Recycled Material Fused Particle Fabrication-Based 3D Printing Using an Open Source Software Implementation of Particle Swarm Optimization
- Waste Plastic Direct Extrusion Hangprinter
- Hangprinter for Large Scale Additive Manufacturing using Fused Particle Fabrication with Recycled Plastic and Continuous Feeding
- Open Source Cold and Hot Scientific Sheet Press for Investigating Polymer-Based Material Properties
Distributed Recycling LCA[edit source]
- Tightening the loop on the circular economy: Coupled distributed recycling and manufacturing with recyclebot and RepRap 3-D printing
- Technical pathways for distributed recycling of polymer composites for distributed manufacturing: Windshield wiper blades
- Plastic recycling in additive manufacturing: A systematic literature review and opportunities for the circular economy
- Energy Payback Time of a Solar Photovoltaic Powered Waste Plastic Recyclebot System
- Life cycle analysis of distributed recycling of post-consumer high density polyethylene for 3-D printing filament
- Evaluation of Potential Fair Trade Standards for an Ethical 3-D Printing Filament
- Life cycle analysis of distributed polymer recycling
- Distributed recycling of post-consumer plastic waste in rural areas
- Ethical Filament Foundation
- Green Fab Lab Applications of Large-Area Waste Polymer-based Additive Manufacturing
- Systems Analysis for PET and Olefin Polymers in a Circular Economy
- Potential of distributed recycling from hybrid manufacturing of 3-D printing and injection molding of stamp sand and acrylonitrile styrene acrylate waste composite
- Towards Distributed Recycling with Additive Manufacturing of PET Flake Feedstocks
Literature Reviews[edit source]
- Waste plastic extruder: literature review
- Life cycle analysis of polymer recycling literature review
- Solar powered recyclebot literature review
- Waste plastic extruder: literature review
- Life cycle analysis of polymer recycling literature review
Externals[edit source]
- Economist article on U. of Washington's HDPE boat, Oprn3dp.me
- https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/52444-ocean-plastic-community-project
- Another possible solution - reusable containers [1]
- Commercial https://dyzedesign.com/pulsar-pellet-extruder/
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- Cruz, F., Lanza, S., Boudaoud, H., Hoppe, S., & Camargo, M. Polymer Recycling and Additive Manufacturing in an Open Source context: Optimization of processes and methods. [2]
- Investigating Material Degradation through the Recycling of PLA in Additively Manufactured Parts
- Mohammed, M.I., Das, A., Gomez-Kervin, E., Wilson, D. and Gibson, I., EcoPrinting: Investigating the use of 100% recycled Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) for Additive Manufacturing.
- Kariz, M., Sernek, M., Obućina, M. and Kuzman, M.K., 2017. Effect of wood content in FDM filament on properties of 3D printed parts. Materials Today Communications. [3]
- Kaynak, B., Spoerk, M., Shirole, A., Ziegler, W. and Sapkota, J., 2018. Polypropylene/Cellulose Composites for Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, p.1800037. [4]
- O. Martikka et al., "Mechanical Properties of 3D-Printed Wood-Plastic Composites", Key Engineering Materials, Vol. 777, pp. 499-507, 2018 [5]
- Yang, T.C., 2018. Effect of Extrusion Temperature on the Physico-Mechanical Properties of Unidirectional Wood Fiber-Reinforced Polylactic Acid Composite (WFRPC) Components Using Fused Deposition Modeling. Polymers, 10(9), p.976. [6]
- Romani, A., Rognoli, V., & Levi, M. (2021). Design, Materials, and Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing in Circular Economy Contexts: From Waste to New Products. Sustainability, 13(13), 7269. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7269/pdf
Literature Reviews[edit | edit source]
- Waste plastic extruder: literature review
- Life cycle analysis of polymer recycling literature review
In the news[edit | edit source]
- Optimizing the Properties of Recycled 3D Printing Materials 3D Print 40.1k
- re: 3D GIgabot X ottimizzazione delle proprietà dei materiali di stampa 3D riciclati Stampare in 3D
- Gigabot X: Optimierung von recycelten Filamenten 3DRuck