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Filament waste---what to do with it?


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Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

With the distance between the feeder and the nozzle, at the end of a spool, that would leave about 2 feet of filament waste.

So, what do you do with the 'lost' filament in this case.

I do some recycling back into 'cleaner filament' but that still leaves a lot of filament to be recycled or used somehow. PVA, I recycle no matter what, into slurry, so no issues there.

Eventually, I want to recycle my filaments into new filament (By way of a good/pro level struder). But until the time I can afford such a beast, what do you good folk do with your waste?

Thanks for the feedback/ideas :)

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    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    Just search the recyclability of the filaments you're using. If a can't be then just put it in the normal rubbish.

    Making you own filament is not the most efficient. If you way up the cost of buying an extruder, running costs etc. you would need to make heaps of rolls which may take a few years to make up for it and by then who knows where the technology will lead.

    Also, you can't re-extrude PLA. It degrades too much so you end up throwing away those scraps anyway.

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    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    Just search the recyclability of the filaments you're using. If a can't be then just put it in the normal rubbish.

    Making you own filament is not the most efficient. If you way up the cost of buying an extruder, running costs etc. you would need to make heaps of rolls which may take a few years to make up for it and by then who knows where the technology will lead.

    Also, you can't re-extrude PLA. It degrades too much so you end up throwing away those scraps anyway.

     

    A few years to recoup costs would not be so bad. I just hate waste with a passion. Did not know that about PLA though. That is disappointing. But you also have the ability to make your own special blends though. That would be fun to experiment with.

    But I do hate putting all this plastic, in the long run, into a landfill or something else. I know PLA will degrade, but still, so much waste....The horror....the horror.....;)

    Thanks for the input.

    What about other filament types and their recyclability? Any sort of guide out there?

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    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    I use those left over ends to do atomic pulls at regular intervals.

    If you would still have more left over, what about heating them with a heat gun and making toys with it for the kids? Arm bands, rings,...

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    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    I use those left over ends to do atomic pulls at regular intervals.

    If you would still have more left over, what about heating them with a heat gun and making toys with it for the kids? Arm bands, rings,...

     

    There be a grand idea. Had not even crossed my mind :)
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    • 4 weeks later...
    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    I've been thinking about melting them and casting them into shapes, like a bunny and other decorative items. Like fridge magnets. There are casting shapes found online, buy a pattern and melt the leftovers. Or I've been also thinking of welding together 2 filaments with a heat gun or something. Haven't tried anything yet tho.

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    Posted (edited) · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    I've been trying to figure a way to join them to continue their length for use in printing. But I haven't put much thought into it as I am doing other things that are occupying my time. But it is a thought I will explore.

    Edited by Guest
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    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    there is a filament welding tool on kickstarter which seems to work great, but I don't think it's needed. Of course, it's easier with it, but we should be able to join them without issues by melting them gently, or using chloroform

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    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    I built a joiner by myself-there are some nice examples out there e.g. On thingiverse. Low cost and make the job, but honestly, use it seldom as the lighter method is also fine...

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    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    The filament welding tools I have seen are for 1.75 filament.

    And I may look into the make your own as drayson suggested.

    And....Lighter Method? Please do tell. :)

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    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    :-)

    just make the two ends burn/melt and push them together, but not too firm as the melted surface is pushed aside and the hard filement ends stick together without bonding...

    then trimm the welded area to 2,8xmm with a sharp knife. normally it holds well enough to be used in the bowden...

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    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    :-)

    just make the two ends burn/melt and push them together, but not too firm as the melted surface is pushed aside and the hard filement ends stick together without bonding...

    then trimm the welded area to 2,8xmm with a sharp knife. normally it holds well enough to be used in the bowden...

    Oh...you literally meant a lighter with flame! LOL I can see that. I bet some are easier to work with than others.

    Have you done this with reasonable success? I am pretty darned clumsy with some things.

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    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    i guess you could use a guide of some sort made out of wood or aluminium or something that doesn't melt. something like this:2017-04-28.thumb.png.c5603b9c5bcddf949cb1654fc83a2f9f.png

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    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    I - more or less - scratchbuilt this one: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:281792

    or with more information, here: https://rigid.ink/blogs/news/how-to-join-or-fuse-filament-together

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    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    Those are nice links :) Thanks!

    Me time has been spent on other things/research and it is nice to have a good pointer and outside ideas.

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    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    Well, I dood it. I managed to splice the end of one part of PVA onto another part and get it to work. I spliced three parts total and it has greatly extended the life of the rolls.

    Did it the flame way using a candle and trimmers to get the fusing down to a decently consistent diameter and it is feeding properly. :)

    Thanks for the tips!!<3

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    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    I once made a filament welding tool like this:

    filament_houder1.thumb.jpg.f1ec846c5d3d0178a552aaaffa38b670.jpg

    Procedure to weld: cut off filament ends at 90°. Then put both filament ends in the groves, and hold them down firmly with your fingers. Heat a metal knife in a flame, put the hot knife in-between the filament ends and push them onto it, melting both ends. Remove knife, and slide your fingers towards each other so the molten ends bond. Then wait until cooled down, and with a Dremel tool remove the excess flanges. It worked well, feeds correctly, but still, I didn't like it, so I don't use it anymore...

    filament_houder1.thumb.jpg.f1ec846c5d3d0178a552aaaffa38b670.jpg

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    Posted · Filament waste---what to do with it?

    Well, I had a goofy thing happen to me this morning. I was at work (next to my printer at home) and I hear those little synthesizer noises coming out of the printer, just all happy and such and then a loud pop.

    I turned and looked and I had neglected to make sure I had enough filament to finish a long job last night.

    Soooo, being the cheap bastich I am, I paused the print, pulled off the bowden tube (From both ends) and tried to do a 'spot weld' between two filaments. Did not work. I only had about a 9 inch leader from the end of the filament and the feeder. Cooked off several inches trying to weld it to a new PLA filament. Now, I did not have the same brand of PLA, so there were some incompatibilities involved. One would melt faster than the other, etc....

    So, in desperation, I cut the filament that was feeding into the machine way above the feeder, reloaded the next filament, making sure that both were cut as 90° as possible to butt up against each other. Slid the bowden tube over the main filament and then snaked the new filament through the feeder and into the tube, abutted to the main filament.

    And, Voila!! Danged if it did not work! It fed nicely and just made a new color where they changed from main filament to new filament.

    Kept an eye on it as it fed to make sure it did not bind in the tube, but, it just fed nicely and kept on going.

    I will get caught up after I do some main checking on my computer as I am getting some strange errors on the drive. Spent a lot of last night having to back things up little by little as the drive would just grind to a halt, then have to reboot and do some more. That is why I neglected to check my filament length before starting the print. A bit preoccupied with my files.

    But, that is no excuse, and now, I have a great experience of an emergency 'filamectomy' in the middle of a print. I'll post some pics once the drive is figured out.....sigh......

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