1 Topic by andreas.nikolakakis (edited by andreas.nikolakakis 2014-06-26 16:09:11)

  • andreas.nikolakakis
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Topic: Recycling in 3D printing (Filastruder)

Hello everybody!

My name is Andreas Nikolakakis and I am student at the MSc Engineering with Finance at University College London. Some weeks ago, I started my individual project, which is related to recycling materials at 3D printing (i.e. making filament).

The purpose of my individual  Project is to create a new, holistic approach of using recycling materials as filaments in 3D printing: I will create a techno-economic model that will be dual, as I will try to apply it to both a developed (i.e. UCL - London) and a developing city and prove its viability in terms of finance and sustainability. At the same time, I am studying the engineering limitations and constraints of using recycling materials in making 3D filament.

I woud like to use Filastruder as the main extruding system in my Financial Model as it is cheap and reliable in general.

However I have some questions:

1) Can Filastruder extrude recycled ABS or HDPE granules, given that they are already processed (cleaned, shredded etc.) by an industrial company?

2) Is there any chance that the current extrusion rate (~ 1kg/ 12 hours) increase in the future or you believe that this is the maximum capacity of Filastruder?

3) What are the dimensions of Filastruder?

Thank you in advance for your information.

2 Reply by elmoret

  • elmoret
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Re: Recycling in 3D printing (Filastruder)

andreas.nikolakakis wrote:

1) Can Filastruder extrude recycled ABS or HDPE granules, given that they are already processed (cleaned, shredded etc.) by an industrial company?

ABS: No problem. Done by hundreds of users with various flavors of ABS.
HDPE: No one really uses this since it is nearly impossible to use in 3D printing due to extreme warp and inability you stick to anything.

andreas.nikolakakis wrote:

2) Is there any chance that the current extrusion rate (~ 1kg/ 12 hours) increase in the future or you believe that this is the maximum capacity of Filastruder?

1kg/12 hours is the sweet spot. Increasing output rate would mean a stronger motor, barrel, and screw. Required motor power scales roughly with the square of the extrusion speed. This gets expensive quickly.

andreas.nikolakakis wrote:

3) What is the energy demand (electricity) for each kg of extruded filament?

The Filastruder draws around 50w, so 0.5kwh/kg. In the US, this is about 5 cents per kg.

Filastruder - the robust, inexpensive filament extruder
E3Dv6 All Metal Hotend - the premier 3D printing hotend

3 Reply by andreas.nikolakakis

  • andreas.nikolakakis
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Re: Recycling in 3D printing (Filastruder)

elmoret wrote:
andreas.nikolakakis wrote:

1) Can Filastruder extrude recycled ABS or HDPE granules, given that they are already processed (cleaned, shredded etc.) by an industrial company?

ABS: No problem. Done by hundreds of users with various flavors of ABS.
HDPE: No one really uses this since it is nearly impossible to use in 3D printing due to extreme warp and inability you stick to anything.

andreas.nikolakakis wrote:

2) Is there any chance that the current extrusion rate (~ 1kg/ 12 hours) increase in the future or you believe that this is the maximum capacity of Filastruder?

1kg/12 hours is the sweet spot. Increasing output rate would mean a stronger motor, barrel, and screw. Required motor power scales roughly with the square of the extrusion speed. This gets expensive quickly.

andreas.nikolakakis wrote:

3) What is the energy demand (electricity) for each kg of extruded filament?

The Filastruder draws around 50w, so 0.5kwh/kg. In the US, this is about 5 cents per kg.

Thank you for the information! I have some more questions :-)

With regard to the extrusion rate, in order to double it (2kg per 12 hours) how much would be the cost for the extruder (roughly)?

What are the dimensions of Filastruder? I searched in your website but I did not found this.

I asked about HDPE, because HDPE and PET are the most used plastics globally, therefore if we want to create a circular, recycling procedure in 3D printing these two materials should be converted to filament as well... What about PET? I think this is even more difficult that HDPE as it has two phases...

4 Reply by elmoret

  • elmoret
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Re: Recycling in 3D printing (Filastruder)

andreas.nikolakakis wrote:

With regard to the extrusion rate, in order to double it (2kg per 12 hours) how much would be the cost for the extruder (roughly)?

Extrusion rate depends on a lot of things, some are compromises. For example, increasing temperature increases extrusion rate, but decreases filament diameter and makes diameter variation worse. The former can be cured with an over drilled nozzle, of course. You could probably double it with the beta motor (possibly overvalued with more cooling), an over drilled nozzle, running hot. If you want to produce for yourself, 1kg/12 hours is more than any 3D printer can use. If you want to produce commercially, get an industrial extruder.

andreas.nikolakakis wrote:

What are the dimensions of Filastruder? I searched in your website but I did not found this.

I doubt you searched, considering it is right on the product page:

Specifications:

Typical Extrusion Rate: 2.2lbs (1kg) per 12 hours (6-24in/min, depending on diameter, material, and temperature)
Extrusion Temperature: Room temperature to 225C. Limited by heater power for safety, to prevent thermal decomposition of polymers.
Size: 21”x6”x6”
Noise: 45-50dBA @ 3ft
Power: 110-240VAC, 50/60Hz, 60 watts peak, 50 watts average (electrical cost: 10 cents per kg extruded)

andreas.nikolakakis wrote:

I asked about HDPE, because HDPE and PET are the most used plastics globally, therefore if we want to create a circular, recycling procedure in 3D printing these two materials should be converted to filament as well... What about PET? I think this is even more difficult that HDPE as it has two phases...

PET is bad because the PET in blow molding is not good for 3D printing.

Filastruder - the robust, inexpensive filament extruder
E3Dv6 All Metal Hotend - the premier 3D printing hotend