1 Topic by scobo (edited by scobo 2015-07-09 05:27:36)

  • scobo
  • scobo
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Scotland - UK
  • Registered: 2014-08-09
  • Posts: 993

Topic: Use waste filament as a filler ?

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.

Davinci 1.0 with repetier firmware & E3D V6 Lite
Anycubic Photon DLP printer, Einscan-S 3D scanner
Simplify3d, 123D Design, Meshmixer
http://www.thingiverse.com/scobo/designs

2 Reply by Tomek

  • Tomek
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2012-10-01
  • Posts: 710

Re: Use waste filament as a filler ?

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

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.)

3 Reply by Tomek (edited by Tomek 2015-07-09 17:50:11)

  • Tomek
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2012-10-01
  • Posts: 710

Re: Use waste filament as a filler ?

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.)

4 Reply by carl_m1968

  • carl_m1968
  • carl_m1968
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Far North almost not Dallas
  • Registered: 2014-10-17
  • Posts: 6,512

Re: Use waste filament as a filler ?

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.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

5 Reply by scobo

  • scobo
  • scobo
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Scotland - UK
  • Registered: 2014-08-09
  • Posts: 993

Re: Use waste filament as a filler ?

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.

Davinci 1.0 with repetier firmware & E3D V6 Lite
Anycubic Photon DLP printer, Einscan-S 3D scanner
Simplify3d, 123D Design, Meshmixer
http://www.thingiverse.com/scobo/designs

6 Reply by elmoret

  • elmoret
  • Filastruder
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2012-10-11
  • Posts: 6,048

Re: Use waste filament as a filler ?

Cheapest? Filastruder is cheaper.

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

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

7 Reply by scobo

  • scobo
  • scobo
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Scotland - UK
  • Registered: 2014-08-09
  • Posts: 993

Re: Use waste filament as a filler ?

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.

Davinci 1.0 with repetier firmware & E3D V6 Lite
Anycubic Photon DLP printer, Einscan-S 3D scanner
Simplify3d, 123D Design, Meshmixer
http://www.thingiverse.com/scobo/designs

8 Reply by scobo (edited by scobo 2015-07-18 13:57:50)

  • scobo
  • scobo
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Scotland - UK
  • Registered: 2014-08-09
  • Posts: 993

Re: Use waste filament as a filler ?

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.

Davinci 1.0 with repetier firmware & E3D V6 Lite
Anycubic Photon DLP printer, Einscan-S 3D scanner
Simplify3d, 123D Design, Meshmixer
http://www.thingiverse.com/scobo/designs