Jan 1, 17 / Aqu 01, 01 11:55 UTC

3D printing  

Currently we use PLA filament which is good but expensive. We plan to recycling or find a cheaper alternative. Does anybody has experience in the recycling? If we recycle for example PET, which additives are needed to get similar quality?

Jan 2, 17 / Aqu 02, 01 19:01 UTC

It's possible to print without filiment - I've seen systems that use PET granules, so can be hopper fed like traditional injection moulding machines.

If you're recycling you shouldn't need additives to increase quality, it would only dilute it. You want to remove anything that isn't polyethylene terephthalate. The only "additives" you should be adding are "dyes" that will adjust the colour of the end product as it melts.

Jan 6, 17 / Aqu 06, 01 16:29 UTC

to recycle pet , you can direct print using ABS.

we can produce pla wit suggar, but it´s not easy. we can use a laser to synthesizer sand too :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptUj8JRAYu8

i think that you love this, we can build bricks for building using the mars soil :P

Jan 7, 17 / Aqu 07, 01 01:35 UTC

There's no need for filament, depending on your printer type. If you have a Prusa type or a Delta type, yes, you need filament, but there's some printers that doesn't use filament at all, more resin types but I guess they're a bit more expensive...

  Last edited by:  Patrice Quesnel (Asgardian, Candidate)  on Jan 7, 17 / Aqu 07, 01 01:35 UTC, Total number of edits: 1 time

Feb 21, 17 / Pis 24, 01 15:25 UTC

Both PLA and PET are thermoplastic, I was under the assumption you could recycle these just by heating and re-extruding into a filament. Is that not the case? If so, you wouldn't need additives.

What are your intended uses for this? There's several drawbacks to using plastics in space, for example.

Feb 22, 17 / Pis 25, 01 03:27 UTC

There's also several advantages - but you'd obviously not consider using plastics where the properties do not perform to requirements.

Concering the recycling, the only "additives" one would potentially consider with recycling would be a "dye" in order to assume a more uniform, or controllable hue. I've also seen hopper fed systems that can be fed PET/PLA granules used in industrial injection moulding etc so if rendered into suitable fragments "recycled" material can possibly be fed into this and skipped the filiment stage.

Mar 1, 17 / Ari 04, 01 10:00 UTC

Honestly there's likely little uses for structural components with polymers. Various surface finishes and compoenents it's ideal for - supporting a few hundred or a few thousand tonnes isn't commonly one of them.

With other materials it's feasible. It may be possible to use the likes if SLS to bond titanium or aliuminium into shapes, and these commonly are good for structural components.

Polycarbosilanes strikes me as particularly useful for some components.