Recyclebot

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A recyclebot (or RecycleBot) is an open-source hardware device for converting waste plastic into filament for open-source 3D printers like the RepRap. [1] Making DIY 3D printer filament at home is both less costly and better for the environment than purchasing conventional 3D printer filament. [2] [3] [4] In following the RepRap tradition there are recyclebot designs that use mostly 3-D printable parts. [5]

Contents

Motivation and benefits

RepRap 3D printers have been shown to reduce costs for consumers by offsetting purchases that can be printed. [6] [7] [8] [9] The RepRap's plastic feedstock is one area where cost can still be reduced. In 2014 professor Joshua Pearce pointed out that "Filament is retailing for between $36 and $50 a kilogram and you can produce your own filament for 10 cents a kilogram if you use recycled plastic" [10] The device can thus further enhance RepRap affordability by reducing operating costs. [11] In addition, by reducing prosumers' reliance on purchased products, the RepRap and the recyclebot have made it feasible for 3D printing to be used for small-scale manufacturing to aid sustainable development. [12] [13] It has been postulated that recycled filament production could also offer an alternative income source by the Ethical Filament Foundation [14] [15] or as a form of "fair trade filament". [16] It has also been shown to improve the energy payback time of even known green energy technologies like solar photovoltaics. [17]

Technology

The RecycleBot is an open-source hardware project – thus its plans are freely available on the Internet.

History

The history of the RecycleBot was largely derived from the work on the RepRap Wiki under GNU Free Documentation License1.2. [20]

The first recyclebot was developed by students at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. [21] [22] [23] This design was a proof of concept and was hand-powered, and so had a small ecological footprint, but did not create filament of high enough quality to be useful for 3D printers. The design for the waste plastic extruder (Recyclebot v2.0 and v2.1) developed at Queen's University Canada and Michigan Tech was heavily influenced by the Web4Deb extruder, which extrudes HDPE for use as a growth medium in aquaponics. [24] This design for the recyclebot was developed, tested and published in the peer-reviewed rapid prototyping literature. [25] This device proved viable for producing 3D printing filament. The Recyclebot v2.2 is being developed by the Michigan Tech in Open Sustainability Technology Research Group. [26]

Many makers or DIY enthusiasts have made various versions of RecycleBots. The most notable is the Lyman filament extruder. Lyman, a retired engineer, won a design contest to make a low-cost 3D filament fabrication system. [27] As of 2014, there were many types of recyclebots, many of which are at the early stages of commercialization. Recyclebot technology has been applied to hangprinters to allow for fused particle fabrication of large prints without first having to form filament. [28]

Futurist speculation

Jeremy Rifkin has hypothesized that such recycling with recyclebots and distributed production with 3D printing will lead to a zero marginal cost society. [29] The science-fiction author, Bruce Sterling wondered in Wired if recyclebots and 3D printers might be used to turn waste into guns. [30] Recyclebots can provide a new method of recycling. [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recycling</span> Converting waste materials into new products

Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the properties it had in its original state. It is an alternative to "conventional" waste disposal that can save material and help lower greenhouse gas emissions. It can also prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reducing energy use, air pollution and water pollution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene</span> Thermoplastic polymer

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) (chemical formula (C8H8)x·​(C4H6)y·​(C3H3N)z ) is a common thermoplastic polymer. Its glass transition temperature is approximately 105 °C (221 °F). ABS is amorphous and therefore has no true melting point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3D printing</span> Additive process used to make a three-dimensional object

3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer control, with material being added together, typically layer by layer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RepRap</span> Self-replicating 3D printer initiative

RepRap is a project to develop a low-cost 3D printer that can print most of its own components. As an open design, all of the designs produced by the project are released under a free software license, the GNU General Public License.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recycling codes</span> Code identifying material, for recycling

Recycling codes are used to identify the materials out of which the item is made, to facilitate easier recycling process. The presence on an item of a recycling code, a chasing arrows logo, or a resin code, is not an automatic indicator that a material is recyclable; it is an explanation of what the item is made of. Codes have been developed for batteries, biomatter/organic material, glass, metals, paper, and plastics. Various countries have adopted different codes. For example, the table below shows the polymer resin (plastic) codes. In the United States there are fewer, because ABS is placed with "others" in group 7.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MakerBot</span> American desktop 3D printer manufacturer company

MakerBot Industries, LLC is an American desktop 3D printer manufacturer company headquartered in New York City. It was founded in January 2009 by Bre Pettis, Adam Mayer, and Zach "Hoeken" Smith to build on the early progress of the RepRap Project. It was acquired by Stratasys in June 2013. As of April 2016, MakerBot has sold over 100,000 desktop 3D printers worldwide. Since 2009, the company has released 6 generations of 3D printers, with the latest being the Replicator+ and Replicator Mini+. It was the leader of the desktop market with an important presence in the media but its market share is in decline. MakerBot also founded and operates Thingiverse, the largest online 3D printing community and file repository.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thingiverse</span> Design-sharing website

Thingiverse is a website dedicated to the sharing of user-created digital design files. Providing primarily free, open-source hardware designs licensed under the GNU General Public License or Creative Commons licenses, the site allows contributors to select a user license type for the designs that they share. 3D printers, laser cutters, milling machines and many other technologies can be used to physically create the files shared by the users on Thingiverse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyman filament extruder</span>

The Lyman filament extruder is a device for making 3-D printer filament suitable for use in 3-D printers like the RepRap. It is named after its developer Hugh Lyman and was the winner of the Desktop Factory Competition.

Distributed manufacturing also known as distributed production, cloud producing, distributed digital manufacturing, and local manufacturing is a form of decentralized manufacturing practiced by enterprises using a network of geographically dispersed manufacturing facilities that are coordinated using information technology. It can also refer to local manufacture via the historic cottage industry model, or manufacturing that takes place in the homes of consumers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua Pearce</span> American engineer

Joshua M. Pearce is an academic engineer at Western University and Michigan Tech known for his work on protocrystallinity, photovoltaic technology, open-source-appropriate technology, and open-source hardware including RepRap 3D printers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fused filament fabrication</span> 3D printing process

Fused filament fabrication (FFF), also known as fused deposition modeling, or called filament freeform fabrication, is a 3D printing process that uses a continuous filament of a thermoplastic material. Filament is fed from a large spool through a moving, heated printer extruder head, and is deposited on the growing work. The print head is moved under computer control to define the printed shape. Usually the head moves in two dimensions to deposit one horizontal plane, or layer, at a time; the work or the print head is then moved vertically by a small amount to begin a new layer. The speed of the extruder head may also be controlled to stop and start deposition and form an interrupted plane without stringing or dribbling between sections. "Fused filament fabrication" was coined by the members of the RepRap project to give an acronym (FFF) that would be legally unconstrained in its use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleph Objects</span>

Aleph Objects, Inc. was a small manufacturing company based in Loveland, Colorado. Their business model focused around the development of Open-source hardware for 3D printing with full support for Free and open-source software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prusa i3</span> 3D printer

The Prusa i3 is a family of fused deposition modeling 3D printers, manufactured by Czech company Prusa Research under the trademarked name Original Prusa i3. Part of the RepRap project, Prusa i3 printers were named the most used 3D printer in the world. The first Prusa i3 was designed by Josef Průša in 2012, and was released as a commercial kit product in 2015. The latest model is available in both kit and factory assembled versions. The Prusa i3's comparable low cost and ease of construction and modification has made it popular in education and with hobbyists and professionals, with the printer receiving several awards as a result. The i3 series is released under an open source license, as such there have been variants of the printer produced by companies and individuals worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Applications of 3D printing</span>

In recent years, 3D printing has developed significantly and can now perform crucial roles in many applications, with the most common applications being manufacturing, medicine, architecture, custom art and design, and can vary from fully functional to purely aesthetic applications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3D printing processes</span> List of 3D printing processes

A variety of processes, equipment, and materials are used in the production of a three-dimensional object via additive manufacturing. 3D printing is also known as additive manufacturing, therefore the numerous available 3D printing process tend to be additive in nature with a few key differences in the technologies and the materials used in this process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hangprinter</span> 3D printer

Hangprinter is an open-source fused deposition modeling delta 3D printer notable for its unique frameless design. It was created by Torbjørn Ludvigsen. The Hangprinter uses relatively low cost parts and can be constructed for around US$250. The printer is part of the RepRap project, meaning many of the parts of the printer are able to be produced on the printer itself. The design files for the printer are available on GitHub for download, modification and redistribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3D printing filament</span>

3D printing filament is the thermoplastic feedstock for fused deposition modeling 3D printers. There are many types of filament available with different properties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3D printer extruder</span>

A 3D printer extruder is a filament feeding mechanism used in many fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printers. There are several types of 3D printer extruders. A Bowden extruder is a type of extruder that pushes filament through a long and flexible PTFE (Teflon) tube to the hot end. An alternative type of extruder which is also widely used in filament 3D printers is the direct-drive extruder, which sits closer to the extruder hot end.

A slicer is toolpath generation software used in the majority of 3D printing processes for the conversion of a 3D object model to specific instructions for the printer. In particular, the conversion from a model in STL format to printer commands in g-code format in fused filament fabrication and other similar processes.

References

  1. ↑ Baechler, Christian; DeVuono, Matthew; Pearce, Joshua M. (2013). "Distributed Recycling of Waste Polymer into RepRap Feedstock". Rapid Prototyping Journal. 19 (2): 118–125. doi:10.1108/13552541311302978.
  2. ↑ Kreiger, M.A.; Mulder, M.L.; Glover, A.G.; Pearce, J. M. (2014). "Life Cycle Analysis of Distributed Recycling of Post-consumer High Density Polyethylene for 3-D Printing Filament". Journal of Cleaner Production. 70: 90–96. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.02.009.
  3. ↑ The importance of the Lyman Extruder, Filamaker, Recyclebot and Filabot to 3D printing Archived 18 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine – VoxelFab, 2013.
  4. ↑ Kreiger, M.; Anzalone, G. C.; Mulder, M. L.; Glover, A.; Pearce, J. M (2013). "Distributed Recycling of Post-Consumer Plastic Waste in Rural Areas". MRS Proceedings. 1492: 91–96. doi:10.1557/opl.2013.258.
  5. ↑ Woern, Aubrey L.; et al. (October 2018). "RepRapable Recyclebot: Open source 3-D printable extruder for converting plastic to 3-D printing filament". HardwareX. 4: e00026. doi: 10.1016/j.ohx.2018.e00026 . ISSN   2468-0672.
  6. ↑ B.T. Wittbrodt, A.G. Glover, J. Laureto, G.C. Anzalone, D. Oppliger, J.L. Irwin, J.M. Pearce (2013), Life-cycle economic analysis of distributed manufacturing with open-source 3-D printers, Mechatronics, 23 (2013), pp. 713–726. open access
  7. ↑ Study: At-home 3-D printing could save consumers 'thousands' – CNN, 2013
  8. ↑ Printing Keychains and Shower Heads: 3-D Printing Goes Beyond the Lab – ABC News
  9. ↑ A 3-D Printer Can Pay For Itself In Less Than A Year – Popular Science, 2013
  10. ↑ Turning old plastic into 3D printer filament is greener than conventional recycling – 3Ders, 2014
  11. ↑ Study: At-home 3-D printing could save consumers 'thousands' – CNN, 2013
  12. ↑ 3-D Printing of Open Source Appropriate Technologies for Self-Directed Sustainable Development
  13. ↑ DJ Pangburn. 2014.How 3D Printers Are Boosting Off-The-Grid, Underdeveloped Communities - MotherBoard
  14. ↑ http://techfortrade.org/our-initiatives/3d4d-challenge/the-ethical-filament-foundation/ Tech for Trade – Ethical Filament Foundation
  15. ↑ Charity Targets 3D Printing’s Plastic Waste Problem With Standards For An Ethical Alternative 7 November 2013 by Natasha Lomas, Tech Crunch, https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/07/ethical-additive-manufacturing/
  16. ↑ Feeley, S. R.; Wijnen, B.; Pearce, J. M. (2014). "Evaluation of Potential Fair Trade Standards for an Ethical 3-D Printing Filament". Journal of Sustainable Development. 7 (5): 1–12. doi: 10.5539/jsd.v7n5p1 .
  17. ↑ Shan Zhong, S. et al. Energy Payback Time of a Solar Photovoltaic Powered Waste Plastic Recyclebot System. Recycling 2017, 2(2), 10; doi: 10.3390/recycling2020010
  18. ↑ "RecycleBot v2.2 by jpearce".
  19. ↑ "RecycleBot v2.3 Controls by jpearce".
  20. ↑ "Recyclebot - RepRap".
  21. ↑ Burgess, Phil (5 August 2010). "Recyclebot digests milk jugs to feed MakerBot". hackaday.com/. hackaday.
  22. ↑ Duann (3 August 2010). "RecycleBot: Greening the MakerBot". The Shapeways Blog. shapeways.
  23. ↑ Pettis, Bre (3 August 2010). "Recyclebot makes HDPE for your MakerBot from Milk Jugs!". makerbot.com blog. makerbot.
  24. ↑ Web4Deb's blog.
  25. ↑ Baechler, Christian; DeVuono, Matthew; Pearce, Joshua M. (2013). "Distributed Recycling of Waste Polymer into RepRap Feedstock". Rapid Prototyping Journal. 19 (2): 118–125. doi:10.1108/13552541311302978.
  26. ↑ "Category:MOST - Appropedia: The sustainability wiki".
  27. ↑ Harry McCracken (4 March 2013). "How an 83-Year-Old Inventor Beat the High Cost of 3D Printing". Time.
  28. ↑ Rattan, Ravneet S.; Nauta, Nathan; Romani, Alessia; Pearce, Joshua M. (1 March 2023). "Hangprinter for large scale additive manufacturing using fused particle fabrication with recycled plastic and continuous feeding". HardwareX. 13. doi:10.1016/j.ohx.2023.e00401. ISSN   2468-0672. PMID   36818952.
  29. ↑ Jeremy Rifkin, Zero Marginal Cost Society, Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
  30. ↑ 3D Printed gun moving from sinister joke to sinister business model By Bruce Sterling – Wired – Beyond the Beyond
  31. ↑ Baltodano, S. (2013). RISE. http://www.mme.fiu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/F13-OR-T-4.pdf
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