Open Source 3-D Filament Diameter Sensor for Recycling, Winding and Additive Manufacturing Machines

To overcome the challenge of upcycling plastic waste into 3-D printing filament in the distributed recycling and additive manufacturing systems, this study designs, builds, tests and validates an open source 3-D filament diameter sensor for recycling and winding machines. The modular system for multi-axis optical control of the diameter of the recycled 3-D-printer filament makes it possible to analyze the surface structure of the processed filament, save the history of measurements along the entire length of the spool, as well as mark defective areas. The sensor is developed as an independent module and integrated into a recyclebot. The diameter sensor was tested on different kinds of polymers (ABS, PLA) different sources of plastic (recycled 3-D prints and virgin plastic waste) and different colors including clear plastic. The results of the diameter measurements using the camera were compared with the manual measurements, and the measurements obtained with a one-dimensional digital light caliper. The results found that the developed open source filament sensing method allows users to obtain significantly more information in comparison with basic one-dimensional light sensors and using the received data not only for more accurate diameter measurements, but also for a detailed analysis of the recycled filament surface. The developed method ensures greater availability of plastics recycling technologies for the manufacturing community and stimulates the growth of composite materials creation. The presented system can greatly enhance the user possibilities and serve as a starting point for a complete recycling control system that will regulate motor parameters to achieve the desired filament diameter with acceptable deviations and even control the extrusion rate on a printer to recover from filament irregularities.

[1]  Douglas E. Smith,et al.  Planar deposition flow modeling of fiber filled composites in large area additive manufacturing , 2019, Additive Manufacturing.

[2]  Antal Boldizar,et al.  Degradation of ABS during repeated processing and accelerated ageing , 2003 .

[3]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Distributed Recycling of Post-Consumer Plastic Waste in Rural Areas , 2013 .

[4]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Wood furniture waste–based recycled 3-D printing filament , 2017 .

[5]  John Irwin,et al.  Life-cycle economic analysis of distributed manufacturing with open-source 3-D printers , 2013, Mechatronics.

[7]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Impact of DIY Home Manufacturing with 3D Printing on the Toy and Game Market , 2017 .

[8]  Paolo Minetola,et al.  About the Use of Recycled or Biodegradable Filaments for Sustainability of 3D Printing , 2017 .

[9]  Rhys Jones,et al.  RepRap – the replicating rapid prototyper , 2011, Robotica.

[10]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Technical pathways for distributed recycling of polymer composites for distributed manufacturing: Windshield wiper blades , 2020, Resources, Conservation and Recycling.

[11]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Anisotropic mechanical property variance between ASTM D638-14 type i and type iv fused filament fabricated specimens , 2018, Polymer Testing.

[12]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  RepRapable Recyclebot: Open source 3-D printable extruder for converting plastic to 3-D printing filament , 2018, HardwareX.

[13]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Polymer recycling codes for distributed manufacturing with 3-D printers , 2015 .

[14]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Distributed Manufacturing of Flexible Products: Technical Feasibility and Economic Viability , 2017, Technologies.

[15]  K. Hart,et al.  Recycling meal-ready-to-eat (MRE) pouches into polymer filament for material extrusion additive manufacturing , 2018 .

[16]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Reversing the Trend of Large Scale and Centralization in Manufacturing: The Case of Distributed Manufacturing of Customizable 3-D-Printable Self-Adjustable Glasses , 2014 .

[17]  J. Jambeck,et al.  The Chinese import ban and its impact on global plastic waste trade , 2018, Science Advances.

[18]  J. Gonzalez-Gutierrez,et al.  Processability and mechanical properties of extensively recycled high density polyethylene , 2015 .

[19]  Nicole E. Zander,et al.  Recycled polypropylene blends as novel 3D printing materials , 2019, Additive Manufacturing.

[20]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Life Cycle Analysis of Distributed Recycling of Post-consumer High Density Polyethylene for 3-D Printing Filament , 2014 .

[21]  Robert E. Dvorak,et al.  Plastics recycling: challenges and opportunities , 2009, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[22]  BowyerAdrian,et al.  3D Printing and Humanity's First Imperfect Replicator , 2014 .

[23]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Environmental Life Cycle Analysis of Distributed Three-Dimensional Printing and Conventional Manufacturing of Polymer Products , 2013 .

[24]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Emergence of Home Manufacturing in the Developed World: Return on Investment for Open-Source 3-D Printers , 2017 .

[25]  Mauricio Camargo,et al.  Polymer recycling in an open-source additive manufacturing context: Mechanical issues , 2017 .

[26]  C. Wilcox,et al.  Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean , 2015, Science.

[27]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Environmental Impacts of Distributed Manufacturing from 3-D Printing of Polymer Components and Products , 2013 .

[28]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Global value chains from a 3D printing perspective , 2016 .

[29]  S. Kim,et al.  Properties of recycled and virgin poly(ethylene terephthalate) blend fibers , 2013 .

[30]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Tensile strength of commercial polymer materials for fused filament fabrication 3D printing , 2017 .

[31]  Liu Tengfei,et al.  Recycling and remanufacturing of 3D printed continuous carbon fiber reinforced PLA composites , 2017 .

[32]  Mauricio Camargo,et al.  Plastic recycling in additive manufacturing: A systematic literature review and opportunities for the circular economy , 2020, Journal of Cleaner Production.

[33]  Santander Pavlo,et al.  3D-Printing Based Distributed Plastic Recycling: A Conceptual Model for Closed-Loop Supply Chain Design , 2018, 2018 IEEE International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation (ICE/ITMC).

[34]  Nicole E. Zander,et al.  Recycled polyethylene terephthalate as a new FFF feedstock material , 2018 .

[35]  Mazher Iqbal Mohammed,et al.  The recycling of E-Waste ABS plastics by melt extrusion and 3 D printing using solar powered devices as a transformative tool for humanitarian aid , 2018 .

[36]  Francesco Penta,et al.  A comparison between mechanical properties of specimens 3D printed with virgin and recycled PLA , 2019, Procedia CIRP.

[37]  C. Cardona,et al.  Effects of Filament Diameter Tolerances in Fused Filament Fabrication , 2016 .

[38]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Tightening the loop on the circular economy: Coupled distributed recycling and manufacturing with recyclebot and RepRap 3-D printing , 2018 .

[39]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Mechanical Properties and Applications of Recycled Polycarbonate Particle Material Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing , 2019, Materials.

[40]  Mazher Iqbal Mohammed,et al.  Investigation of Closed-Loop Manufacturing with Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene over Multiple Generations Using Additive Manufacturing , 2019, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.

[41]  Meinhard Schilling,et al.  Closed loop control of slippage during filament transport in molten material extrusion , 2017 .

[42]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Open Source Waste Plastic Granulator , 2019, Technologies.

[43]  Nicole E. Zander.  Recycled Polymer Feedstocks for Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing , 2019, ACS Symposium Series.

[44]  Chao-Ming Huang,et al.  Physical Characterization and Pre-assessment of Recycled High-Density Polyethylene as 3D Printing Material , 2017, Journal of Polymers and the Environment.

[45]  AndersonIsabelle.  Mechanical Properties of Specimens 3D Printed with Virgin and Recycled Polylactic Acid , 2017 .

[46]  Marc Pepi,et al.  Towards Expeditionary Battlefield Manufacturing Using Recycled, Reclaimed, and Scrap Materials , 2018 .

[47]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Distributed recycling of waste polymer into RepRap feedstock , 2013 .

[48]  Adrian Bowyer,et al.  RepRap: The Replicating Rapid Prototyper: Maximizing Customizability by Breeding the Means of Production , 2010 .

[49]  Hakim Boudaoud,et al.  Polymer Recycling and Additive Manufacturing in an Open Source context: Optimization of processes and methods , 2015 .

[50]  D. Lin,et al.  A review on additive manufacturing of polymer-fiber composites , 2017 .

[51]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Energy Payback Time of a Solar Photovoltaic Powered Waste Plastic Recyclebot System , 2017, Recycling.

[52]  R. Geyer,et al.  Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made , 2017, Science Advances.

[53]  Mazher Iqbal Mohammed,et al.  EcoPrinting: Investigation of Solar Powered Plastic Recycling and Additive Manufacturing for Enhanced Waste Management and Sustainable Manufacturing , 2018, 2018 IEEE Conference on Technologies for Sustainability (SusTech).