How to Make 3D Printing More Eco-Friendly ?

 

3D Printing is one of the fastest growing industries of this era.  As every coin has its two sides, 3d printing also has its disadvantages. As people are becoming aware of carbon and plastic waste there is need to find out ways to make 3D Printing more “Eco-Friendly”. There are different ways to make 3D Printing Eco-Friendly

In spite of the fact that ABS plastic isn't biodegradable, it is conceivable to reuse it. Since ABS could be a “thermoplastic” (vs a “termoset”) you're able to re-heat it once more to utilize it as fiber after it’s been warmed. Fiber recyclers can pound up family squander made of plastic and failed prints and turn them into fiber. The Filamaker is one fiber processor which can break down your utilized prints and the Filabot, and Recyclebot are two fiber extruders that will repurpose your utilized fiber and make unused fiber. One company ReDeTec propelled a campaign where they made the ProtoCycler which both grinds your ancient prints and extrudes fiber with one machine. This can be an extraordinary way to re-use your scrap fiber from failed prints or little bits of fiber that wouldn’t be valuable.  When you are using a fiber recycler, it’s vital not to blend diverse sorts of fibers.

Try employing water dissolvable fiber your prints. PVA (Polycinyl Liquor) fiber will break down when exposed to water & isn't sent to our landfills. PVA works well to support both ABS or PLA prints but you may require a dual extrusion printer for this to work successfully. HIPS (High Affect Polystyrene Sheet) is an awesome biodegradable substitute for other types of filaments. There are a number of fibers that are more economical than the ABS choices. Fibers like Willow Flex are compostable by both EU and USA compostability benchmarks and others are made from reused fabric like 3DBrooklyn ‘s line of fibers made from reused potato chip sacks and drain cartons. 3DOM USA contains a line of brew fiber made from squander byproduct of beer-brewing prepare.

Metal powder cleared out over from a print can be recovered. In numerous high-tech businesses, such as aviation, particular and unquestionable metal qualities are required, which cannot be met by fibers.

3D Printing Materials

 

Market demand for 3D printing & 3D printers continues to expand, with a wide range of industries from Medicine to Aerospace adopting 3D printing in their operations. This market expansion & the need to cater diverse product & design requirements across industries has resulted in a host of new 3D printing materials to be discovered. From plastics, resins & metals, Carbon Fibre & Nitinol are also being used for 3D printing based on specific project requirements. 

Plastics remain the most common 3D printing material to be used today. Plastics offer the advantage of multiple applications for products from ranging from utensils, toys & action figures to household fixtures. Plastics are the most affordable 3D printing material, a major reason for them being the choice of creators & consumers as well. Polysastic Acid or PLA filaments are eco-friendly, as they are sourced form natural products. Found both in hard & soft forms they are expected to be the most common material for 3D printing, with hard PLA being ideal for a broad range of products. Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene or ABS is another plastic that is commonly used in home-based 3D printers. Available in various colours, ABS is used mostly for making Toys, Jewellery, due to its high flexibility & firmness. Some other plastics used for 3D printing are Polyvinyl Alcohol Plastic or PVA & Polycarbonate or PC. PVA & PC however do not offer the range of applications provided by PLA or ABS due to lower strength & are often low-cost alternatives. 

Resins are also used as 3D printing materials, but have less flexibility & strength as compared to plastics. High detail resins are used for models that require intricate details, while paintable resins are used for smooth surface 3D prints. Transparent resin is the strongest resin material & is suitable for a large range of 3D printed products. 

Manufacturers of air-travel equipment & makers of aircraft use metals to 3D print parts & aircraft, using a method called Direct Metal Laser Sintering or DMLS. The technique is also used for a diverse range of everyday items like utensils & even jewellery items like bracelets, among others. Metals are also used for 3D printing medical tools & devices, prototypes of metal instruments and even automobile parts. Stainless steel, Bronze, Nickel, Titanium, Gold, Aluminium are the most commonly used metals for 3D printing. 

Exotic materials like Carbon Fibre, Graphite, Graphene are used to print parts with requirements of higher strength & integrity. Combination of carbon fibre over plastic is used as a fast & easy alternative to metal 3D printing. Graphene & Nitinol (a combination of Nickel & Titanium) provide the highest amount of strength & flexibility of any 3D printing material. Advances in application Graphene in 3D printing of solar panel equipment & Nitinol in medical equipment is bound to revolutionize a host of industries including electronics & medicine. 

All these various applications of diverse materials for 3D printing are bound to expand the market for 3D printing through new levels of adoption & application in varied industries.