[KS] Recycling prints into filament.

[Gadgetman!]

There's a kickstarter for a Filament extruder running right now.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/94 ... inters-mad

I've backed it because ruined prints and test prints are beginning to stack up.

[Soynuts]

Keep in mind this does not grind up failed prints. You would some how need to grind up your failed prints into small enough pellets to fit into this machine. You would be far better off buying virgin pellets than sourcing a grinder and grinding up old prints into small enough pieces. Considering the cost of virgin pellets, it's just not worth the effort/cost of grinding up old prints. I'm not really sure why they show "failed prints" as an option other than as a marketing gimmick. I pay about $4.70 a pound for pellets for my filastruder.

[Gadgetman!]

I have now about 1Kg of failed prints, test prints, filament cutoffs, leftovers, and old 3mm filament. All of it sitting there, taking up space.
I guesss I could pick the easy option and just bin it...

As for how to cut it into small enough bits... Will it blend?

I won't mind buying pellets, if I can get that cheaper than filament, though...

Did you check out the mechanical parts of this project?

They have a rather nifty screw to transport the material towards the nozzle.

[jjubenv]

I'm not expert in this by any means, but from what I've read, it's hard to keep a high tolerance on the diameter of the extruded filament and you should to mix fresh pellets in with your failed prints. It seems that used plastic can only be re-used/re-heated so many times before it becomes unusable for 3D printing. I'm looking for links where I found this information and will post when I find the relevant articles.

[twforeman]

As someone who worked in the plastic injection molding business (mold designer) for 20 years, I can verify that this is true.

You can regrind and recycle plastic, but for best results you don't usually want to use more than 20% recycled material. And you usually don't reuse it more than once.

[Fablicator]

You don't want to grind failed prints. Its amazing how some very small foreign material can completely jam an extruder.

Manufacturers have a hard enough time keeping filament clean, accurate, and debris free when made from virgin plastic at an industrial scale.

My opinion of the small extruders is about the same as trying to make your own end mills. You can do it, but it's not going to save you any money in the long run, and will cause an enormous amount of grief.

[Gadgetman!]

I have an old Prusa Mendel I'm planning to rebuild, and one of the mods will be a larger nozzle. 0.6mm I think, for faster printing of parts where the finish doesn't matter.