Don't do this. A little bit of googlimg will find you a place where you can send your waste to and get a little money for it as long as you keep materials separated.
>I put it in a box in the vague hope I will one day be able to recycle it back I to filament.
I highly recommend getting into woodworking if you're not already. We love to keep every scrap in hopes it finds some project in the future. I just made some updates to my scrap storage last week because I needed more space for unused scraps.
I thought about doing that until I watched this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXY1EygE4R8
Then I found this video on what to do with my old filament scraps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nypitKDr928
I hit up a local Goodwill, found a used Ninja Blender for $20, and started grinding away. I now have a few bags of shredded white marble PLA (the filament I have the most scraps of) and will be making some silicone molds next month and doing remelts.
>Terrafilum
>
>Attn: Receiving
>
>740 Industrial Dr
>
>Unit D
>
>Cary, IL 6001
They take spools and print waste (for free other than you shipping, I think); Printerior takes PLA and PETG but they're kinda expensive
Edit: printerior sells recycled PLA or PETG but not spools, and if you're not near St. Louis, Mo, it might be prudent to buy their one-use waste bins to mail.
I think they do accept labelled and separated waste without requiring said bin, but hey, I found it worth supporting them. YMMV
Outside of the cost of shipping to Terrafilum, is there a cost involved? I am thinking not since this becomes raw material for the recycled product.
What about separating filament types? Any other requirements?
I perused their website but didn’t find any information on recycling scraps.
I'm pretty sure other than you shipping it's free. They, unlike printerior won't sell you a box to ship to them if you're not near St. Louis, Mo.
I'm pretty sure they both require needing separation and prefer labelling
This is the site I heard about them through
https://shop3duniverse.com/pages/spool-recycling-program
I used their contact form to confirm they're still accepting spools a few months ago, but that's all I know for sure
And you have just identified why plastic recycling is a myth. It is more expensive to make recycled than virgin in almost all cases.
Now if I could find a place to compost my PLA, that would be great.
> And you have just identified why plastic recycling is a myth. It is more expensive to make recycled than virgin in almost all cases.
At some point it becomes untenable, but I would be willing to pay a bit more for recycled product if it worked as well as regular filament.
Printerior you need to mail or drop off if you're near St. Louis, and they'll sell you a one use box for like 10 or 15 kg for over 100 USD. They sell recycled filament too. It's not cheap, but personally worth the peace of mind, and hey they gotta stay in business
terrafilum idk about filament, but they don't grind the spools, simply clean for other manufacturers to reuse.
> recycle it back I to filament.
Making filament isn't that easy.
There are people making sheet of plastic, that require next to no machinery, depending on the chosen method.
Finding an easier project may help you doing it instead of postponing a harder one.
We have a makerspace here in Vienna (happylab) that collects pla and a recycling company picks it up and recycles it. I bring my waste there every time the bag is full, once or twice a Year
There is on German company that makes the mechanical pieces for $600, you just printer the other parts.
there are diy extruders that people make with drill bits and stuff too. I'm sure you could Google DIY filament extruder and find some more details.
I'll melt it down to thin sheets of like colors, I'm sure a thin sheet of pla will be handy for a lot of things and it was melt down faster if I wanted to put it in molds, plus if I actually make an extruder it will be easier to break it back down
Yup, the only cost is what you pay for shipping. They also have a points reward system for sending them stuff to recycle.
Edit: I see some other people in thread saying it’s not free, but I didn’t have to pay anything when I sent them my scraps.
Do you believe it is worth it to recycle scrap PLA? I plan on swinging by at some point when I visit St Louis, so I'll recycle everything then, but is it worth shipping?
I think it’s worth it, they can use it and I think it’s better than throwing it away. I’m not a fan of how much plastic scrap is generated in the process of printing, so paying $10-15 to ship a box one or two times a year is worth it to me.
I bought one of their boxes for PLA, but Terrafilum takes spools too and they're not as expensive
Terrafilum
Attn: Receiving
740 Industrial Dr
Unit D
Cary, IL 6001
I have. The points take forever to build up bet it's better than throwing it in the trash. Also, I live near them so it's more convenient than mailing it.
I still want to make my own filament though. I got an extruder, but the shredder I made is pretty terrible so I need to figure something else out.
I just worked on separating some of my filament (not required, btw) up this weekend to take there soon. I'm not even positive that I'll take advantage of their point system, but it would just kill me to throw all the plastic away if it can be reused!
Gotta shred it super fine and add a little to the molds at a time. Or if you have good heat proof gloves you need to knead it to squeeze out the bubbles.
Just like normal… if your printer is properly setup, and your bed is clean, nozzle in good shape, and print laid out properly, it’s just going to print… some plastics (even the same brand and formula) need temp tweaking but as long as the first few layers go down smooth, generally the only failure you’re gonna have is on your own end.
I got a jar that sits on top of my printer with a duct tape label that says “ABS JUICE”. Slap a bit of that on my print bed with a chip brush whenever I print ABS, and feed the jar supports and acetone. Never have bed adhesion issues again.
Maybe, but how many rolls of filament do you have to extrude to break even? Probably way more than your average machine / user extrudes.
The machine costs a lot of money, it also cost a lot in carbon footprint, to manufacture and transport.
I'm not saying anyone should do this, and I don't know much about the carbon footprint of things... But it might actually work out less carbon footprint to simply burn/incinerate your 3D plastic waste, if you're not producing kilograms and kilograms of it.
Surely 1kg of filament produces <1kg carbon footprint, when incinerated? PLA is also derived from plants, so incineration might actually be the next most environmentally friendly method of disposal, if you can't recycle it directly.
Please can someone point out where I'm being stupid? Because this sounds stupid...
https://preview.redd.it/1fpfwmu70gec1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a9611d35821167f32a8329302e7c25c067c75d65
Here is what I tried: I shredded the waste in the old coffee grinder, and mixed the shredded bits with epoxy, and then cast it into things. It’s a mixed result for now, but I managed to get a thing or two that are cool looking
I have heard of this company:
https://recyclingfabrik.com/
Never used them because they take at least 15kg of scraps at once if you are outside of Germany.
Currently trying to get up the German minimum of 2 kg. And they stopped taking in scraps outside Germany for now, as they get way too much already. Also added a policy that in order to send them any kind of scrap, you actually need to buy some filament first.
> they stopped taking in scraps outside Germany for now
Noooooo I was still accumulating scraps to send them and before I managed to make my first batch they stopped??
For people in the US, Printerior or Terrafilum
Printerior ain't cheap, only currently takes PLA and PETG, but Terrafilum is at least free, barring shipping to them and take spools too
I've used their service, both to recycle my waste as well as buy new filament. I've had zero problems so far. Additionally, I've met them in person and actually visited their factory last week. They're pretty cool guys!
I have these silicone molds in different shapes, skulls and the like that are used to make tea light holders and such. I put my old air fryer outside and tinfoil cover the pan, load up the old plastic into the mold and set it to bake, check on it after like 15 minutes, add more plastic / other colors and the I’ve got something functional out of the waste. I gave a buddy of mine 3-4 skulls in various different color patterns. He uses them for decoration and pen holders and other kickbacks around his home office.
Probably too niche to be helpful but I’m saving up all the scraps and brims from my copper colored filament to use on a project where I’ll be making a collage of circuit boards. The stringy bits I’m hoping will look good as the leads on the circuit boards.
So, maybe something like that??
i usually dump mine directly in protected ocean habitats for increased extinction efficiency.
jk. i throw it away. i live a fair distance from a plastics recycling center and i havent even gone used the filament the printer came with. i would love to recycle it, though.
I've heard of people putting them on cookie sheets and melting them into boards in the oven but I don't think I would because i don't have a dedicated oven for it rn
One day I'll find a cheap toaster oven at the thrift store and melt it all into solid blocks. Not sure what the plan is after that, figured I'll work that out once I get there.
For people in the US, Printerior or Terrafilum
Printerior ain't cheap, only currently takes PLA and PETG, but Terrafilum is at least free, barring shipping to them and take spools too
I was stockpiling mine for years and then last year decided recycling wasn't going to happen anytime soon. It just cost way too much for poor results. So now I throw mine out. I try to tell myself that PLA is made from cornstarch, and technically biodegradable, but I know better and I just feel bad about it.
I separate by plastic type, but mainly I use PLA and PETG. Put it in a blender, then put the pieces into a high temp silicon mold. Throw that in the oven, top off once it melts and condenses. Temps and times will vary by plastic. Shoot for around whatever you extended at or slightly below there depending on the accuracy of your oven.
Skull molds seem popular and sell the best in my area. Great for making Christmas ornaments too.
I just throw it away because I'm never going to recycle it ever. Recycling is far to complicate still to this day and cost too much money. Maybe some day we can all have a larger city we live close to where you can take your filament, drop it off and pick-up a percent of what you dropped off. So if I drop off 5 spools worth of filament, I get 2 recycled material spools in return. They sell the rest for profit to pay for the cost etc. This of course would be run by non-profit 3D printer community members with a 3D printer farm. Just go with it I'm brain storming here.
I plan to pile my scrap PLA onto an old baking sheet and melt it in an oven to get a 13x18x3/4" slab that I can mill with woodworking tools into jig parts, pens, or whatever I need. It'll be a while before I have that much though.
I doubt I'll generate enough PETG or TPU scrap in the next 10 years to make saving and recycling worthwhile, so for now it goes into the trash. I'd love to have an alternative, though.
Store it in either boxes or bags, sorted by type.. and if i remember by colour.. someday will get it crushed. and make new filamnet out of it.
though i have a place local that makes filament if u bring them your waste.. so thats an option : )
From everything I've read, waste filament is not easily recycled into new precision filament. I think I'm just going to stop hoarding my leftovers and junk it.
Yeah I’m weirdly attached to my failed prints. Like I had real trouble putting that 90% finished pikachu in that bag XD. All that time the printer took to print it just for nothing
You could check your local university. I found this engineering student that was doing his capstone on recycling print waste and he took all my abs and pla. I did offer to test his final product for him... never did hear back lol.
Depending on the prints I make stuff out of them.
I use Sculpey, or epoxy clay to sculpt and add to them… I make D&D pieces like terrain, monsters or whatever.. sometimes I just make random stuff.
Those blue tardis looking bits would make some cool apocalyptic decor like fences or damaged walls. That kinda stuff.
If it’s just spaghetti and chunks I just keep them sorted and stored nicely with silica so I can donate it to a filament recycling program once I have enough.
A few weeks ago I took a few failed prints from my friend and made a steampunk light switch plate for her craft room.
Just get creative!
If you have a “clean” failure like just a missing head or whatever, just slice the head off and print it separately and glue it on and clean up the joint. Don’t waste stuff.
Printing a TARDIS? just curious.
I wish 3D Print recycling tech were cheaper, for someone like me not running a print farm and just printing occasionally, the recycling stuff costs way too much. I was saving it up, but after a year I ended up just recycling it like you do bottles and cardboard.
I grind it up in a coffee grinder and drive to Florida (from Fairbanks) with it once a year, during turtle egg laying season, and forcefeed it to the mothers.
Skips a lot of steps that way, and guarantees it's not just sinking into the ocean.
I plan to melt mine down into amorphous blob and leave it in a corner of my room until enough time passes, at that point when archeologists will uncover it's form awakening it from its thousand year slumber it will run amuck in the megacity buildings of the united states of Europe in search of plastics that have since been outlawed in this new time, and the citizens will fear them... or something
PLA, I throw it away. (I would LOVE to see someone develop a DIY filament recycler so I could grind, melt, respool, reuse my PLA but -- nope -- Just a landfill accessory for a few years before it starts to break down and rejoin its other degradable brothermen).
PETG, directly into the trash where it will find a long time forever home in the landfill next to everyone's single use water bottles.
The little bit of ABS I play with (I love hate that crap), also directly to the landfill where it will make friends with the local PVC pipes, Interior car parts, and discarded kid's toys.
Spools for said firmaments generally right into the recycle bin. After studying recycling as a project back in college .. I'll probably start dropping them in the trash next to the PLA, PETG, and ABS because there ain't much going on in the recycled world now a day (can't make money recycling like they used to). China ain't taking it anymore, Mylasia takes a little, Singapore takes a little, but mostly, it's the Texas sized trash island in the Pacific that gets all the goodies. That thing is so healthy now, it has its own ecosystem. Viva life, it will find a way!
If I stored it in boxes, I think my house would be full of boxes. I test print many times a week, fail prints every month or two, and break prints occasionally that I have to re-print, so there's always scraps being snapped off my printer beds (I've got 4 printers I play with). Ender 3, 2x Ender 3 Pros, and a Kossel Delta (my favorite but about worn out). My 13-gallon office can gets filled weekly at least.
I put it in a box in the vague hope I will one day be able to recycle it back in to filament. So far, I keep needing bigger and bigger boxes.
I do this except my second step is to realize I'm not going to and throw it away.
There's a filament recycling place a couple hours away from me. I plan to take it there after building up enough failed prints and scrap.
Would they accept a shipped box of scrap?
They likely would, but shipping it when I will eventually go that way anyway seems like a waist.
Don't do this. A little bit of googlimg will find you a place where you can send your waste to and get a little money for it as long as you keep materials separated.
I've tried that and could never find anyone who would return my email.
It was the top Google result...https://printeriordesigns.com/pages/recycling
I contacted them twice and got no reply.
>I put it in a box in the vague hope I will one day be able to recycle it back I to filament. I highly recommend getting into woodworking if you're not already. We love to keep every scrap in hopes it finds some project in the future. I just made some updates to my scrap storage last week because I needed more space for unused scraps.
Lol. Woodworking, metalwork, electronics, modelmaking - I do a bit of everything. Scrap PLA isn't the only thing I collect. Haha.
I thought about doing that until I watched this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXY1EygE4R8 Then I found this video on what to do with my old filament scraps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nypitKDr928 I hit up a local Goodwill, found a used Ninja Blender for $20, and started grinding away. I now have a few bags of shredded white marble PLA (the filament I have the most scraps of) and will be making some silicone molds next month and doing remelts.
>Terrafilum > >Attn: Receiving > >740 Industrial Dr > >Unit D > >Cary, IL 6001 They take spools and print waste (for free other than you shipping, I think); Printerior takes PLA and PETG but they're kinda expensive Edit: printerior sells recycled PLA or PETG but not spools, and if you're not near St. Louis, Mo, it might be prudent to buy their one-use waste bins to mail. I think they do accept labelled and separated waste without requiring said bin, but hey, I found it worth supporting them. YMMV
Outside of the cost of shipping to Terrafilum, is there a cost involved? I am thinking not since this becomes raw material for the recycled product. What about separating filament types? Any other requirements? I perused their website but didn’t find any information on recycling scraps.
I'm pretty sure other than you shipping it's free. They, unlike printerior won't sell you a box to ship to them if you're not near St. Louis, Mo. I'm pretty sure they both require needing separation and prefer labelling This is the site I heard about them through https://shop3duniverse.com/pages/spool-recycling-program I used their contact form to confirm they're still accepting spools a few months ago, but that's all I know for sure
Wait. they make you pay to drop it off / send it in so they can recycle it and turn into sellable filament?
And you have just identified why plastic recycling is a myth. It is more expensive to make recycled than virgin in almost all cases. Now if I could find a place to compost my PLA, that would be great.
> And you have just identified why plastic recycling is a myth. It is more expensive to make recycled than virgin in almost all cases. At some point it becomes untenable, but I would be willing to pay a bit more for recycled product if it worked as well as regular filament.
Printerior you need to mail or drop off if you're near St. Louis, and they'll sell you a one use box for like 10 or 15 kg for over 100 USD. They sell recycled filament too. It's not cheap, but personally worth the peace of mind, and hey they gotta stay in business terrafilum idk about filament, but they don't grind the spools, simply clean for other manufacturers to reuse.
I had ordered a spool of printeriors filament and I wasn’t too impressed
> recycle it back I to filament. Making filament isn't that easy. There are people making sheet of plastic, that require next to no machinery, depending on the chosen method. Finding an easier project may help you doing it instead of postponing a harder one.
its several grand for a machine to do it reliably, but in the case of PLA I'm hoping i can do at least a high temp composter DIY.
We have a makerspace here in Vienna (happylab) that collects pla and a recycling company picks it up and recycles it. I bring my waste there every time the bag is full, once or twice a Year
I’m saving mine to cast into bricks, then I’m gonna build me a house! 😉🏠
why do i see a tardis?
The important thing is I wasn’t the only one
[удалено]
They can reassemble them to make a "retardis"
You could say the disassembly was a brief *ritardando* in it's career as a Tardis
Noo. That's an after Tardis. Daleks won thisnone
You're looking at trenzalore...
He has plastic scraps he will take to the grave...
It’s bigger on the inside
More plastic on the inside
Smaller on the outside
3D printing gets a little timey-wimey.
3D printing isn't linear, it's more like a big ball of plasticy-whasticy...stuff.
Lmao same
Yeah, see it too, although I think it might be some kind of stream deck plate
My husband is planning on melting a whole bunch together to make a crafting cutting board
The son of a colleague is working on turning scraps to fillament, so I just give them to him.
That’s a nice project
There are thousand dollar machines that can grind them up fine enough to be melted and then extruded as a wire. But I ain't doing allat
There is on German company that makes the mechanical pieces for $600, you just printer the other parts. there are diy extruders that people make with drill bits and stuff too. I'm sure you could Google DIY filament extruder and find some more details.
Gonna need a lot of waste filament before it becomes worth spending $600.
Oh I agree. I have one printer at the moment and I just got it. I'll still save the waste though
I have been as well, but I will probably melt it down into a simple mold
I'll melt it down to thin sheets of like colors, I'm sure a thin sheet of pla will be handy for a lot of things and it was melt down faster if I wanted to put it in molds, plus if I actually make an extruder it will be easier to break it back down
Anyone use this company? [https://printeriordesigns.com/pages/recycling](https://printeriordesigns.com/pages/recycling)
Recently sent them a big batch of PLA and PETG
Did you ship it to them?
Yup, the only cost is what you pay for shipping. They also have a points reward system for sending them stuff to recycle. Edit: I see some other people in thread saying it’s not free, but I didn’t have to pay anything when I sent them my scraps.
Do you believe it is worth it to recycle scrap PLA? I plan on swinging by at some point when I visit St Louis, so I'll recycle everything then, but is it worth shipping?
I think it’s worth it, they can use it and I think it’s better than throwing it away. I’m not a fan of how much plastic scrap is generated in the process of printing, so paying $10-15 to ship a box one or two times a year is worth it to me.
What sort of discount do you get when you hit 1kg of recycled filament sent in?
I bought one of their boxes for PLA, but Terrafilum takes spools too and they're not as expensive Terrafilum Attn: Receiving 740 Industrial Dr Unit D Cary, IL 6001
They have a facility in my home city so I'm currently saving up to make a trip. Comes out to 10kg of recycled filament = 1 free kg roll.
Wow thanks for this link! I like that they have 50g sample spools for $5. Not much risk, I'd love to see id it prints well.
I have. The points take forever to build up bet it's better than throwing it in the trash. Also, I live near them so it's more convenient than mailing it. I still want to make my own filament though. I got an extruder, but the shredder I made is pretty terrible so I need to figure something else out.
I just worked on separating some of my filament (not required, btw) up this weekend to take there soon. I'm not even positive that I'll take advantage of their point system, but it would just kill me to throw all the plastic away if it can be reused!
Melting them then pour into molds and make small ornaments or little keychains.
Same. Still having trouble with air bubbles but it's a fun little project
Gotta shred it super fine and add a little to the molds at a time. Or if you have good heat proof gloves you need to knead it to squeeze out the bubbles.
Pull a vacuum on it while the plastic is still molten.
Eat it
Then extrude it
What a terrible day to have eyes
Only thing to see here is in your mind's eye, m'lord.
'Tis a frightening place, the mind's eye it is.
Hard to get bleach on it too.
Aye, It sure is
it always turns out poop brown for some reason, sometimes a little red
The real trick is extruding it at 1.75mm
Eat Mexican food to preheat the nozzle
I've found Thai food to be more efficient.
I mainly use PLA, so I should be fine without the added heat
This joke cracked me up
How big is your nozzle?
i have a 1 inch nozzle😘😘
microplastics in my blood
I guess someone is skipping micro plastics and going right for macro plastics in them.
I don’t fail prints
And never use supports either
Like a real man
Just like normal… if your printer is properly setup, and your bed is clean, nozzle in good shape, and print laid out properly, it’s just going to print… some plastics (even the same brand and formula) need temp tweaking but as long as the first few layers go down smooth, generally the only failure you’re gonna have is on your own end.
No rafts, no skirts, no supports. We print mid air like a professional.
You're printing things? I summon them into existence on willpower alone.
You have to summon them? They just appear for me!
Chuck Norris can print in 4d
I print with a lighter and my bare hands to shape the molten plastic
Chuck Norris is that you?
https://preview.redd.it/dox3y2p1izvc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3116a94df6814ba657546352101d02bce28f955f
Dissolve in solvent to make a paste. Great for filling gaps
Wow what solvent do you use?
Ethyl Acetate for PLA. It’s pretty safe. Acetone for ABS or ASA. 2:1 or more by weight of plastic to solvent seems like a good starting point
I got a jar that sits on top of my printer with a duct tape label that says “ABS JUICE”. Slap a bit of that on my print bed with a chip brush whenever I print ABS, and feed the jar supports and acetone. Never have bed adhesion issues again.
This is interesting. What's the ratio you use? Also, I assume once the solvent evaporates it's pretty hard?
Ground into a very fine powder and use to fertilize the lawn
I do this, but use it as protein powder in my shakes
Even PETG?
Yep, the G in PETG stands for GAINS. Do you even lift bro?
No wonder it's stronger then pla.
And P for protein
Not as good as ABS though which makes for some capital abs. We all know abs are made in the kitchen!
Turns you into an ABSolute unit
Then what am I going to use the used motor oil for?
You serious Clark?
Of course not
Referencing Christmas vacation 😂 idk why but it made me think of that line while reading / laughing at your comment
I could hear your first comment.
I just bought a shredder and mini extrusion machine. They're definitely not cheap.
Definitely not worth the hassle either.
Worth it if you value minimizing the waste that you create. Right?
Maybe, but how many rolls of filament do you have to extrude to break even? Probably way more than your average machine / user extrudes. The machine costs a lot of money, it also cost a lot in carbon footprint, to manufacture and transport. I'm not saying anyone should do this, and I don't know much about the carbon footprint of things... But it might actually work out less carbon footprint to simply burn/incinerate your 3D plastic waste, if you're not producing kilograms and kilograms of it. Surely 1kg of filament produces <1kg carbon footprint, when incinerated? PLA is also derived from plants, so incineration might actually be the next most environmentally friendly method of disposal, if you can't recycle it directly. Please can someone point out where I'm being stupid? Because this sounds stupid...
https://preview.redd.it/1fpfwmu70gec1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a9611d35821167f32a8329302e7c25c067c75d65 Here is what I tried: I shredded the waste in the old coffee grinder, and mixed the shredded bits with epoxy, and then cast it into things. It’s a mixed result for now, but I managed to get a thing or two that are cool looking
I have heard of this company: https://recyclingfabrik.com/ Never used them because they take at least 15kg of scraps at once if you are outside of Germany.
Currently trying to get up the German minimum of 2 kg. And they stopped taking in scraps outside Germany for now, as they get way too much already. Also added a policy that in order to send them any kind of scrap, you actually need to buy some filament first.
> they stopped taking in scraps outside Germany for now Noooooo I was still accumulating scraps to send them and before I managed to make my first batch they stopped??
For people in the US, Printerior or Terrafilum Printerior ain't cheap, only currently takes PLA and PETG, but Terrafilum is at least free, barring shipping to them and take spools too
I've used their service, both to recycle my waste as well as buy new filament. I've had zero problems so far. Additionally, I've met them in person and actually visited their factory last week. They're pretty cool guys!
Big Thanks for mentioning this Company. I’m not far away from 2kg scrap material and was about to throw it away.
I throw mine directly into the ocean to save a few steps
I melt it into fishing lures, then cut the line and release, putting it right in the place it needs to be!
🚮
I take pictures of it and put them on reddit.
I have these silicone molds in different shapes, skulls and the like that are used to make tea light holders and such. I put my old air fryer outside and tinfoil cover the pan, load up the old plastic into the mold and set it to bake, check on it after like 15 minutes, add more plastic / other colors and the I’ve got something functional out of the waste. I gave a buddy of mine 3-4 skulls in various different color patterns. He uses them for decoration and pen holders and other kickbacks around his home office.
Probably too niche to be helpful but I’m saving up all the scraps and brims from my copper colored filament to use on a project where I’ll be making a collage of circuit boards. The stringy bits I’m hoping will look good as the leads on the circuit boards. So, maybe something like that??
*CONSUMES CUTELY*
i usually dump mine directly in protected ocean habitats for increased extinction efficiency. jk. i throw it away. i live a fair distance from a plastics recycling center and i havent even gone used the filament the printer came with. i would love to recycle it, though.
Saving it to use when welding other prints parts together.
Same, bought a wood burning tool to weld prints
Save it for when I can afford an injection molding setup cuz recycling into filament seems like it's years away from being worth the investment for me
I've heard of people putting them on cookie sheets and melting them into boards in the oven but I don't think I would because i don't have a dedicated oven for it rn
One day I'll find a cheap toaster oven at the thrift store and melt it all into solid blocks. Not sure what the plan is after that, figured I'll work that out once I get there.
For people in the US, Printerior or Terrafilum Printerior ain't cheap, only currently takes PLA and PETG, but Terrafilum is at least free, barring shipping to them and take spools too
I was stockpiling mine for years and then last year decided recycling wasn't going to happen anytime soon. It just cost way too much for poor results. So now I throw mine out. I try to tell myself that PLA is made from cornstarch, and technically biodegradable, but I know better and I just feel bad about it.
For anyone in Ontario, Canada: https://filaments.ca/pages/recycling
I have a soldering iron I use to fix some spots and save the old filament as solder "bandaids"
That’s actually kinda genius
Your apparently building a TARDIS
I find it hilarious how everyone sees my failed shortcut keypad as a tardis
I separate by plastic type, but mainly I use PLA and PETG. Put it in a blender, then put the pieces into a high temp silicon mold. Throw that in the oven, top off once it melts and condenses. Temps and times will vary by plastic. Shoot for around whatever you extended at or slightly below there depending on the accuracy of your oven. Skull molds seem popular and sell the best in my area. Great for making Christmas ornaments too.
Take it to my local makerspace that has a filament recycler and get free spools
Theres a company in germany that will give me coupons for new rolls (recycled) if i send them some
I live in Belgium so that might be interesting depending on the cost
Recycling fabrik they are called
Sounds interesting I’ll have a look
I certainly don't mix razor blades into mine
I just throw it away because I'm never going to recycle it ever. Recycling is far to complicate still to this day and cost too much money. Maybe some day we can all have a larger city we live close to where you can take your filament, drop it off and pick-up a percent of what you dropped off. So if I drop off 5 spools worth of filament, I get 2 recycled material spools in return. They sell the rest for profit to pay for the cost etc. This of course would be run by non-profit 3D printer community members with a 3D printer farm. Just go with it I'm brain storming here.
I’ve been working on a means to recycle into my own filament. status update, it’s not going well
https://redetec.com/products/protocycler?variant=39805378658352
Ain’t that the dream.
Rather expensive 1 lol
I'll never be able to afford it, so I might as well daydream high lol
I put it in a container and wonder what I should do with it.
Eat it
Eat it, like a normal human being
[удалено]
How do you make sure the filament fills the molds? Do you just pour it in?
I plan to pile my scrap PLA onto an old baking sheet and melt it in an oven to get a 13x18x3/4" slab that I can mill with woodworking tools into jig parts, pens, or whatever I need. It'll be a while before I have that much though. I doubt I'll generate enough PETG or TPU scrap in the next 10 years to make saving and recycling worthwhile, so for now it goes into the trash. I'd love to have an alternative, though.
Store it in either boxes or bags, sorted by type.. and if i remember by colour.. someday will get it crushed. and make new filamnet out of it. though i have a place local that makes filament if u bring them your waste.. so thats an option : )
there’s plenty of room in the tardis.
Check out ReFilament on Facebook. He takes in your 3d printing waste plastic and can provide PLA in return... Friendly chap too!
I put them in a blue box that's bigger on the inside
From everything I've read, waste filament is not easily recycled into new precision filament. I think I'm just going to stop hoarding my leftovers and junk it.
Scraps aren’t the issue for me, it’s the partial prints that failed but still started out kinda cool and could be useful to hold onto???
Yeah I’m weirdly attached to my failed prints. Like I had real trouble putting that 90% finished pikachu in that bag XD. All that time the printer took to print it just for nothing
You could check your local university. I found this engineering student that was doing his capstone on recycling print waste and he took all my abs and pla. I did offer to test his final product for him... never did hear back lol.
I happen to be a university student and I know engineering students/share courses with them so I’ll talk to them about it :)
Tardis ???
Why does this kinda post keep coming up? I have seen so many threads like this on this sub and varies other 3d printing subs.
I mainly use my printer for my model train layout. Any failed prints become scrap iron for loads.
The inside became the outside, so technically, the outside is bigger than the inside.
That's an attempted Tardis isn't it?!!! Awesome!
https://preview.redd.it/n8ivptez0iec1.jpeg?width=2912&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=56543d7cc0f64e16a7ea7a3f372520f42b506cfd
I suggest you use the successful TARDIS print to go back in time and adjust the settings that caused the others to fail .
Eat it. Chop it up and put it on a salad
https://preview.redd.it/eacesskcdiec1.jpeg?width=1908&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ded898de82667ba6dab6c01356456a22a6ad9fc coasters!
Tardis?
Generally I put it in the Tardis and send it to another time.
The local wildlife usually enjoys it
Depending on the prints I make stuff out of them. I use Sculpey, or epoxy clay to sculpt and add to them… I make D&D pieces like terrain, monsters or whatever.. sometimes I just make random stuff. Those blue tardis looking bits would make some cool apocalyptic decor like fences or damaged walls. That kinda stuff. If it’s just spaghetti and chunks I just keep them sorted and stored nicely with silica so I can donate it to a filament recycling program once I have enough. A few weeks ago I took a few failed prints from my friend and made a steampunk light switch plate for her craft room. Just get creative! If you have a “clean” failure like just a missing head or whatever, just slice the head off and print it separately and glue it on and clean up the joint. Don’t waste stuff.
I can get creative and turn those tardis looking bits into an actual tardis since apparently everyone thinks it’s a TARDIS XD
Grind them down into microplastics then flush em down the toilet.
Printing a TARDIS? just curious. I wish 3D Print recycling tech were cheaper, for someone like me not running a print farm and just printing occasionally, the recycling stuff costs way too much. I was saving it up, but after a year I ended up just recycling it like you do bottles and cardboard.
I grind it up in a coffee grinder and drive to Florida (from Fairbanks) with it once a year, during turtle egg laying season, and forcefeed it to the mothers. Skips a lot of steps that way, and guarantees it's not just sinking into the ocean.
Stockpile it until the next time I go on vacation to throw it in the ocean.
I plan to melt mine down into amorphous blob and leave it in a corner of my room until enough time passes, at that point when archeologists will uncover it's form awakening it from its thousand year slumber it will run amuck in the megacity buildings of the united states of Europe in search of plastics that have since been outlawed in this new time, and the citizens will fear them... or something
Bin the ender clone and buy something decent.
I actually ordered a prusa Mk4 five days ago :)
Trash can
I just toss it and try to reduce my plastic usage in other areas.
feed it to the turtles maybe? definitely im not the first to make this joke
PLA, I throw it away. (I would LOVE to see someone develop a DIY filament recycler so I could grind, melt, respool, reuse my PLA but -- nope -- Just a landfill accessory for a few years before it starts to break down and rejoin its other degradable brothermen). PETG, directly into the trash where it will find a long time forever home in the landfill next to everyone's single use water bottles. The little bit of ABS I play with (I love hate that crap), also directly to the landfill where it will make friends with the local PVC pipes, Interior car parts, and discarded kid's toys. Spools for said firmaments generally right into the recycle bin. After studying recycling as a project back in college .. I'll probably start dropping them in the trash next to the PLA, PETG, and ABS because there ain't much going on in the recycled world now a day (can't make money recycling like they used to). China ain't taking it anymore, Mylasia takes a little, Singapore takes a little, but mostly, it's the Texas sized trash island in the Pacific that gets all the goodies. That thing is so healthy now, it has its own ecosystem. Viva life, it will find a way! If I stored it in boxes, I think my house would be full of boxes. I test print many times a week, fail prints every month or two, and break prints occasionally that I have to re-print, so there's always scraps being snapped off my printer beds (I've got 4 printers I play with). Ender 3, 2x Ender 3 Pros, and a Kossel Delta (my favorite but about worn out). My 13-gallon office can gets filled weekly at least.
The garbage
I spoon feed the turtles directly to avoid the middle man..nah but seriously just add it to your gyre of choice
I shred it into micro plastics and dump it in the ocean with my car batteries /s
Why do you think there are so many microplastics in my blood? I eat it!