Last month, ReCreateIt was featured by Peter Zelinski, a journalist who has covered the manufacturing industry for more than 25 years, on his YouTube channel Manufacturing Unlimited in both Episode 2 and a bonus episode.
Manufacturing Unlimited is brought to you by ICAM (the International Conference on Advanced Manufacturing).
Episode 2 provides an excellent introduction to the ReCreateIt initiative. It also features Carolyn Seepersad from Georgia Tech, who spoke about the project at ICAM, explaining the vision behind ReCreateIt and the collaborative research supporting it.
It highlights the special extrusion system developed by re:3D that is used to produce good quality prints from recycled plastic, which is an unusual feedstock material for 3D printing. To accommodate this material, print designs also need to enable a more continuous extrusion path. In other words, not all designs can be successfully printed with recycled material.
The design tool that Georgia Tech's team is developing incorporates this information, alerting users when a design is not feasible so they can make changes before printing.
The episode ends by illustrating the vision of ReCreateIt: installing our Gigalabs in different communities, especially those that do not have the resources to dispose of and recycle plastic waste, so they can reuse their waste plastic where it is generated.
The full episode can be viewed here:
In the bonus episode, re:3D's extrusion system is featured to show how it helps address the problem of material inconsistency.
Unlike filament and pellets, waste plastic that is simply shredded into flakes does not have a consistent bulk density. Extruders that use consistent filament material can be much simpler. Because re:3D works with inconsistent material, they worked with 3D printer designers to develop the idea of using a long screw running through the extruder. The screw is designed so that as the plastic flakes are pushed down around it, they become better prepared and more consistent for 3D printing. At the bottom of the screw, the material is compressed to achieve a higher density that is suitable for producing high quality 3D prints.
The full bonus episode can be viewed here:
The coverage is also featured on ASTM Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence website: https://amcoe.org/news/mfg-unlimited-ep-2/
