SoliForum - 3D Printing Community — Use waste filament as a filler ?

Re: Use waste filament as a filler ?

null@example.com (scobo) — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 14:25:03 +0000

I've come up with a cheap way to fill prints using decorators caulk if anyone's interested.
I simply paused a print half way and filled it with cheap caulk using a caulk gun then resumed the print.
Saves money on filament and cuts down print time as well as adding weight and some strength to your prints.

Re: Use waste filament as a filler ?

null@example.com (scobo) — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 16:23:38 +0000

You're right, $299 for the DIY kit. Although, I'd need to add $45 for shipping.
I thought they were more expensive than that.

Re: Use waste filament as a filler ?

null@example.com (elmoret) — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 16:04:02 +0000

Cheapest? Filastruder is cheaper.

Strooder's also having major financial problems, they are quite behind on even Kickstarter fulfillment.

Re: Use waste filament as a filler ?

null@example.com (scobo) — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 05:53:35 +0000

Yeah, I was thinking the heat could be an issue. Maybe not such a good idea.
I guess I'll need to wait for filament extruders to come down in price a bit to be able to recycle my waste filament.
Quite interested in this one .... https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/om … g-filament
It's the cheapest one I've seen yet and looks quite user friendly.

Re: Use waste filament as a filler ?

null@example.com (carl_m1968) — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 21:52:31 +0000

The problem I see is that if you get it hot enough to free flow which cant happen with plastic it would melt the rest of your model. Plastic like abs when melted becomes more like a gel than liquid and must be forced rather than free flows.

Re: Use waste filament as a filler ?

null@example.com (Tomek) — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 17:50:00 +0000

Seems very niche compared to either recycling waste filament into pellets and then filament, or anything else. Remember ABS is like $3/lbs, and new material is higher quality than recycled stuff

One thing you might want to explore is using ABS-acetone slurry to fill molds. You could also more easily use ABS recycled stuff for injection molding compared to for printers (BC it's easier to do high pressure fro a mold then doing the same thing in a printer.)

Re: Use waste filament as a filler ?

null@example.com (Tomek) — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 17:49:56 +0000

Seems very niche compared to either recycling waste filament into pellets and then filament, or anything else. Remember ABS is like $3/lbs, and new material is higher quality than

Use waste filament as a filler ?

null@example.com (scobo) — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 05:26:39 +0000

Just wondered if anyone has come up with a way to melt down waste filament and use it to fill a hollow model mid-print ?
The idea would be to pause the print, inject the molten filament then restart the print.