Reclamation and Reuse of 3-D ABS Printing Waste

3D printing using ABS or PLA produces waste that is typically thrown away and presents an environmental issue. The designed plastic waste recycler is composed of a grinder that shreds the plastic waste and an injector that melts and injects the plastic shreds into a removable mold. The injector’s heating bands adjust to user input to maintain the user’s desired temperature. This allows the user to set melting temperatures besides those of ABS and PLA. The injector also features a display of the measured temperature of the heating bands. The mold is exchangeable, with a universal nozzle. Proper safety standards are set in place with multiple emergency stops, temperature regulation of both the grinder and injector, and LED indicators. The team built a prototype of the plastic waste recycler and tested it on campus with several molds, creating usable products from non-recyclable waste.