Topic: Make your own plastic
This video intrigued me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M_eDLyfzp8 (DIY Bioplastics)
I wonder if such a home made plastic could be used with our printers if it was turned into a properly sized filament?
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SoliForum - 3D Printing Community → Solidoodle Discussion → Make your own plastic
This video intrigued me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M_eDLyfzp8 (DIY Bioplastics)
I wonder if such a home made plastic could be used with our printers if it was turned into a properly sized filament?
There answer is most likely "no". Generally, filament with even small impurities tends to Jam the extruder. We'd like someone to show this in action, but as far as we know "reclaimed" plastic will always clog extruders.
However- this would be great to use if you first printed a mold in ABS, then add a release agent and fill it up with the bioplastic.
I saw some people in the reprap community trying to make a filament maker with the parts left over from prints.
Like if you print something, you can "reverse" it and make it back as filament.
Gonna see if i find back the youtubevideo
Here's something kind of relevant thats interesting...
there is no denying that it's possible to make plastic at home. (even milk and vinegar plastic)
there is no denying that non thermo-setting plastic can be melted and re-used.
the question in whether they can be of good enough quality to be used in the machines extruder, the answer is likely to be no. (sure, you can melt them into a slug and then squeeze then between rollers, but I'm not sure that's the same!)
it'd be difficult to create any kind of plastic with a repeatable properly on a camping stove in a garage. that's kind of just the way it is.
try making a batch of cookies, then try making a batch the next day with the exact same flavour/taste/consistency. for an amateur, it's almost impossible...
couple this with the fact that plastic degrades over time (not just absorbing water)
the more times you re-melt/-recycle plastic, the less useful it is as a product material.
(which is why the end of the line for most plastics is as black/grey street furniture.
(that's after food safe/general packaging/not very much seen part etc)
don't misunderstand me, I'm still going to try. but I fear that most of my attempts will end up being an exercise in futility, unless the process becomes automated.
e.g. precicely weight chemicals are weighed into a lab-clean container, where they are mixed, before being heated in a proper PID controlled device and stirred at a set rate for a set time.
Yeah Danny you are absolutely correct.
The fun part is trying to get it to work, even if its not pretty, any progress is still progress
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