Design and Fabrication of A 3D Printing Threads Extractor from Waste Plastic Bottles

Abstract

3D printing is a form of additive manufacturing technology where a 3D object is created by laying down successive layers of material. As 3D printing is growing and boosting product development, the factories doing 3D printing need to continuously meet the printing requirements and maintain an adequate amount of inventory of the filament. 3D printing filament is manufactured through a process known as extrusion. Melted plastic is pushed through an extrusion die and is shaped into a long thin strand of plastic. The machines used for production of the filament are usually sized for industrial use, capable of creating hundreds of feet of filament a day. This filament is made in a few countries like the USA and this makes it expensive for users in countries that do not produce the filament to purchase due to the added cost of shipping, and many end-users also complain about delays in delivery and would therefore prefer to extrude their own filament, from plastic waste input. This project was therefore undertaken to provide 3d printer users with a machine that can help them produce PET filament from waste plastic bottles. The project also to a small extent solves the problem of poor disposal of plastic waste that endangers the environment. The machine was designed and manufactured to create filament that has the required ductility for spooling and use in a 3D printer. The machine worked well and was able to produce PET filament without completely melting the plastic bottles. The final filament product is dependent on the tension put on the filament as it exits the machine. At the moment, a human operator is required to consistently produce acceptable filament but an automated spooling system for the filament would greatly improve the consistency of the output and also ensuring continuous pulling of filament.