Filament Recycling Extruder

[Ross Bochnek]

DAVE!

You were working on a filament recycling extruder to recycle plastics back into printable filament!  I'm going to be printing prototypes for a package design that will ultimately be manufactured in HDPE.  I would LOVE to prototype the model in its actual production material, am very interested in your filament recycling extruder project to do so and helping with the project if necessary.  My goal would be a standard 1.75mm diameter HDPE filament.  For other projects, it would be fun to make colored filaments and recycle waste plastics, such as this project to recycle PET water bottles: http://www.redetec.com/product/

[dave walton]

Yes. I can move that project higher up on the priority list. 

We can start collecting HDPE and get it ready. 

On Friday, July 29, 2016, Ross Bochnek <interac...@gmail.com> wrote:

DAVE!

You were working on a filament recycling extruder to recycle plastics back into printable filament!  I'm going to be printing prototypes for a package design that will ultimately be manufactured in HDPE.  I would LOVE to prototype the model in its actual production material, am very interested in your filament recycling extruder project to do so and helping with the project if necessary.  My goal would be a standard 1.75mm diameter HDPE filament.  For other projects, it would be fun to make colored filaments and recycle waste plastics, such as this project to recycle PET water bottles: http://www.redetec.com/product/

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Makers' Alliance" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to makersallianc...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[dave walton]

We want items labeled with a 2 inside the recycle triangle. Skip the plastic bags. Go for bottles and bottle caps. 

With metal recycling, food and label remnants don't matter because they burn off when melted. But if there are food or labels on the plastic we recycle, we will end up with filament that contains food particles and label bits. 

Sort by color, then remove labels as best we can and wash. Maybe try a heavy duty paper shredder to cut up into consistent bits we can deal with? We will have to see what works for washing. I'm thinking a heated bath with a pressure washer to agitate the bits will break things loose. We can filter the water to sub-micron with diatomaceous earth to remove fibers and recirculate it until it runs clear.

We would need a paper shredder and a pressure washer to test with. I have pumps and filters. One of the steam kettles will do for a wash tank. 

[Ross Bochnek]

Thanks! Upcycling has become an exciting and popular, and artistic avenue! Recycling aluminum is up there too. Recycling plastic is going to be one of the next exciting artistic media!