PROJECT DETAILS

The 3D Print Solutions team plans to develop a line for recycling waste PET packaging on which it will produce PET printing filament. PET material (Polyethylene Terephthalate), together with PLA (Polylactic Acid) and ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), is one of the most popular materials for 3D printing for many reasons. It has excellent thermoforming properties, which means that it is easily heated and formed. PET plastic is less likely to shrink or warp. It is often used when transparency is important in the final product. The method of production of filament from recycled PET packaging is the same as the production of filament from new PET material. The waste PET packaging is first crushed in a machine (crusher) and takes the form of small plastic pieces (flakes). The PET flakes are then placed in a filament production line, in which they are first heated to melting point. Thus heated, the PET plastic passes through a small opening, where the filament is formed, and then the process of cooling and winding the filament follows.