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3D printing filament rig for recycled PET bottles

Our own 2022 project: a rig that turns used PET drinking bottles into 3D printing filament, from cut strip to small test prints.

Whose project
Our own, started in 2022
Raw material
Used PET drinking bottles
What we reached
A built rig, filament and small test prints
Start a prototype (opens WhatsApp) Send a brief

What we brought

  1. What we can do

    We build our own machines

    We designed and built this rig ourselves: a strip feed, a heated nozzle, a motor-driven spool, speed and heat controls.

  2. How we look after you

    We know which plastics print

    We chose PET because it is close to PETG, a common printing plastic, then printed small test pieces.

  3. How fast we move

    From concept to a built rig in two months

    We started the concept build in March 2022 and photographed the finished rig on 03/05/2022.

The build

How we built it

5 steps, from the brief to the finished piece. Pick a step to jump to it.

The brief

Step 1 of 5 · 02/03/2022

Raw material
Used PET drinking bottles
Step 1
Cut each bottle into one long strip
Step 2
Draw the strip down to a usable filament diameter
Step 3
3D print with the new filament
The plan
A proof of concept first, then production, then more plastics

At Additive Inn, our 3D printing studio in Singapore, we set out in 2022 to turn used PET drinking bottles into 3D printing filament. The aim was our own: reuse plastic waste as printing material, then take on more kinds of plastic.

Proof of concept

Step 2 of 5 · 18/03/2022

We picked PET because it is close to PETG, a plastic already used in 3D printing. The test had two steps: cut a bottle into one long strip, then draw the strip through a heated block to a usable filament diameter.

A bottle cut into one long strip.
The strip drawn through a heated block.

Building the rig

Step 3 of 5

We then built the whole process onto one plywood base: the strip feed at one end, a heated nozzle in the middle, and a motor-driven spool at the other that winds up the filament.

One base for feed, nozzle and spool.

Controls and housing

Step 4 of 5 · 03/05/2022

The plywood base doubles as the housing. A front panel carries a display and two dials, and the display shows the spool motor's speed and the nozzle's heat.

The display shows speed and heat.

The final build

Step 5 of 5 · 03/05/2022

On 03/05/2022 we laid the whole chain out on one table: a drinking bottle, the strip cut from it, the filament drawn from that strip, and three small test prints, a ring, a ghost and a cube.

Bottle, strip, filament and test prints.

More product development

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