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Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Mechanical Properties Of Direct Waste Printing Of Polylactic Acid With Universal Pellets Extruder: Comparison To Fused Filament Fabrication On Open-Source Desktop Three-Dimensional Printers, Arthur Alexandre, Fabio A. Cruz Sanchez, Hakim Boudaoud, Mauricio Camargo, Joshua M. Pearce
Mechanical Properties Of Direct Waste Printing Of Polylactic Acid With Universal Pellets Extruder: Comparison To Fused Filament Fabrication On Open-Source Desktop Three-Dimensional Printers, Arthur Alexandre, Fabio A. Cruz Sanchez, Hakim Boudaoud, Mauricio Camargo, Joshua M. Pearce
Michigan Tech Publications
Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is the most common and widespread additive manufacturing (AM) technique, but it requires the formation of filament. Fused granular fabrication (FGF), where plastic granules are directly three-dimensional (3D) printed, has become a promising technique for the AM technology. FGF could be a key driver to promote further greening of distributed recycling thanks to the reduced melt solidification steps and elimination of the filament extruder system. However, only large-scale FGF systems have been tested for technical and economic viability of recycling plastic materials. The objective of this work is to evaluate the performance of the FFF and …
Towards Distributed Recycling With Additive Manufacturing Of Pet Flake Feedstocks, Helen A. Little, Nagendra Gautam Tanikella, Matthew J. Reich, Matthew J. Fiedler, Samantha L. Snabes, Joshua M. Pearce
Towards Distributed Recycling With Additive Manufacturing Of Pet Flake Feedstocks, Helen A. Little, Nagendra Gautam Tanikella, Matthew J. Reich, Matthew J. Fiedler, Samantha L. Snabes, Joshua M. Pearce
Michigan Tech Publications
This study explores the potential to reach a circular economy for post-consumer Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (rPET) packaging and bottles by using it as a Distributed Recycling for Additive Manufacturing (DRAM) feedstock. Specifically, for the first time, rPET water bottle flake is processed using only an open source toolchain with Fused Particle Fabrication (FPF) or Fused Granular Fabrication (FGF) processing rather than first converting it to filament. In this study, first the impact of granulation, sifting, and heating (and their sequential combination) is quantified on the shape and size distribution of the rPET flakes. Then 3D printing tests were performed on …
Open-Source Grinding Machine For Compression Screw Manufacturing, Jacob Franz, Joshua M. Pearce
Open-Source Grinding Machine For Compression Screw Manufacturing, Jacob Franz, Joshua M. Pearce
Michigan Tech Publications
Some of the most promising distributed recycling and additive manufacturing (DRAM) technical systems use fused particle fabrication (FPF) or fused granular fabrication (FGF), where compression screws force post-consumer waste plastic through a heated nozzle for direct 3D printing. To assist the technical evolution of these systems, this study provided the details of an invention for a low-cost, easily replicable open-source grinding machine for compression screw manufacturing. The system itself can be largely fabricated using FPF/FGF following the self-replicating rapid prototyper (RepRap) methodology. This grinding machine can be made from a cordless cut-off grinder and < $155 in parts. The new invention is demonstrated to be able to cut custom screws with variable (i) channel depths, (ii) screw diameters, (iii) screw lengths, (iv) pitches, (v) abrasive disk thicknesses, (vi) handedness of the screws, (vii) and materials (three types of steel tested: 1045 steel, 1144 steel, and 416 stainless steel). The results show that the device is more than capable of replicating commercial screws as well as providing makers with a much greater flexibility to make custom screws. This invention enables the DRAM toolchain to become even more self-sufficient, which assists the goals of the circular economy.