I recenlty started to get into 3D printing and I love it but from the start I wanted to make sure my hobby would be environment safe so I’m collecting all the possible PLA leftovers in a bag, I was wondering what people do with the leftovers, I was plannning either to compost them or re-melt them into a new filament.
There is a third project that involeves the use of the laser cutter but I don’t know what’s the rule at the space about lasering PLA.
I also have a box in which I collect all my leftovers (of which there are many), hoping to recycle them somehow! I use the recycled PLA from Filamentive, so it must be possible in theory to recycle the material. Maybe there is a project or small business to be started collecting users’ left over bits and taking them to be recycled? I would pay a small amount for someone to recycle my stuff. A drop-off point would also be a good option.
I believe Filamentive PLA is recycled from other streams, and not 3D printing failures…last time we looked at this there wasn’t anyone actively recycling…but that may have changed…
Yeah I thought that might be the case. I wonder if there are additives in 3D printer filament that make it more difficult to recycle.
Maybe we should have a filament extruder at the space so people can recycle their own filament, they are expensive and it’s the kind of tool you use once a year.
something like :
edit: better video
I could be wrong (it has been known) but I thought PLA is plant/cellulose based plastic?
Therefore isn’t it technically compostable? Perhaps it needs industrial composting, as opposed to home composting?
eg. Reach a minimum of 55 degrees Celsius/centigrade.
Otherwise it might take many years to break down in your garden, just leaving the dye with unknown environmental credentials.
On a different note I’ve got some hemp filament. Can I donate it to the space ?
Unfortunately we don’t have a risk assessment for hemp filament, so it wouldn’t be allowed to be used in the space.
How do we get a risk assessment on filament, thanks ?
Or if anybody wants it for personal use just let me know.
A 3D tech would need to go in and test the filament with the ultimaker and then write up a risk assessment. Understandably that’s kinda stymied by the current situation, but if there’s enough demand I’d be very happy to do it once we re-open properly.
Hi I’ll keep it to one side. It’s allegedly more sustainable than alternatives in case anyone wants to take a look at it.
Hemp is the world’s most useful plant with about 25,000 uses.
The humble stinging nettle is the next most useful with just 100 uses.
I’ve got some paper and a fabric swatch (somewhere) with some amazing materials.
We have a ruby nozzle on the ultimaker, the hemp should be fine with it, composite filaments are very hard on normal nozzle but except for that sounds safe for me? It’s just PLA and organic materials.
Actually the currently installed nozzle isn’t the ruby unless someone has changed it around.
It’s just a brass nozzle – but the ruby is available to use? I saw it in the box by the printer
It came off because it needed a good clean, but I can’t recall whether or not that clean happened. If it is suitably ungummed I’d be happy for you to replace the current brass one with it.
Ah. I didn’t inspect it (had to dismantle the hotend assembly as it it that thing where filament escaped out the side…that’s when I saw the ruby nozzle
Makes sense. Once everything calms back down I really need to work out why it’s doing that. It really shouldn’t happen.
Why we paid so much money for a nozzle to be keep it ina box?