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  1. #1

    Recycling filament extruder survey for school project

    Hi Everyone!
    As part of a school project where I am investigating how viable a recycling filament extruder is for hobbyists like us, I have set up a small survey so I can get an understanding of how the average person uses their printer and filament.
    You don't have to own a filament extruder to take this survey and it should take less than 3 minutes.
    I really appreciate your help and look forward to being able to give back to the community in the same way you have helped me!
    Here's the link to the survey:
    https://survey.sogosurvey.com/r/NvnJbl
    Thanks again!
    P.s.
    If you wanted some more information about filament extruders here are some great websites to have a look at:
    All3DP's breakdown of different extruders you can build/buy and some general information:
    https://all3dp.com/2/6-best-filament...-build-or-buy/
    Ian Mcmill's Instructable on how to build a DIY filament extruder:
    https://www.instructables.com/id/Bui...actory-Filame/

  2. #2
    Engineer-in-Training
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    Jul 2020
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    I tried to take your survey, but I couldn't get the section on ranking filaments to work. Every time I selected a rank for one type of filament, it would erase the rank from another. I only use PLA anyway, so how can I rank the others? If it's any help, I do a lot of test prints to check fit and proportions. They aren't failed prints, but they are thrown away.

  3. #3
    Hi,
    Yea that question is acting up a bit, I've had some other people have issues with it as well.
    You cant assign the same number to different fliaments if you might of been trying that
    Maybe try on another platform (if you did it on a phone try on a computer or vice versa)
    That question can also be aswered by dragging the filaments around in the list.
    Dont worry if your only filament is PLA, just aswer the rest randomly, I can fix that. Im mostly interested in looking at the top 3-4 most common filaments.
    Thanks for you efforts, I really apreciate it!

  4. #4
    Engineer-in-Training
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    Jul 2020
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    Monterey Bay, California
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    I wasn't trying to assign the same number to different filaments.

  5. #5
    Super Moderator curious aardvark's Avatar
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    Jul 2014
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    same here - the ranking does not work properly.

    However my main issue with recycling used material is that the heating and cooling process used in 3d printing changes the crystalling structure of the materials and many of them would not be suitable for a simple melt and extrude process.
    So quiote probably specific thermal cycle would need to be used.
    On top of that you would need to wash the old filament to get it totally clean and grease and dirt free before re-extruding.

    I'm not sure how easiyl you would be able to fit everything needed into a single desktop unit.

    I've seen and played with the last three filament extruders that were marketed and died a death.

    At the moment i just don't see it as a process that can be easily reduced to a small cheap, desk top unit.

    As far as the percentage of failed prints - it's less than 1 %.

    Once you have the prnter dialled in and a good print surface - print failures should not be a 'thing'.

  6. #6
    Yea not sure whats going on, I have tested it myself and it works for me so I'll try and get in contact with the people who manage the survey website, thanks again for trying though.You're bringing up some great points that are exactly what I need to talk about in my report, especially as I'm looking at the 'viability' of these machines.The fact that you have tried three different machines and struggled to use them easily is great information for me and is an important point I can bring up in my report.What I am finding ineresting is that different scientific journal articles that I have found are bringing back mixed results for how the recycling of the plastic effects its strength, some saying strength immediatly decreases after one recylcing cycle, and others saying strength is actually maximised between 3-5 cycles and then begins to decrease. Thanks again

  7. #7
    Yea it is pretty exiting, I'm building one of the filament extruders you can see in the instrucables link from my original post.
    As for only having to do reserch in writing, dont worry about it. Although i live in Aus so I dont know what its like for you, I do know that as you get older in school you evenually get to be part of projects with more and more complexity. I was like you, and I allways found the stuff that I did kinda boring and not hands on enough but trust me, it gets better!

  8. #8
    Student
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    Sep 2021
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    USA
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    Okay, I'll take this survey, it's even very interesting!

  9. #9
    Super Moderator curious aardvark's Avatar
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    I've got a weird probelem at the momnt that's resulting in some farily dense parts just stopping mid print.
    To recycle them you'd need a fairly heavy duty grinder as well as the extruder.

    Or a large heayed container to melt them down.

    There is a lot more to recycling plastic than just the filament extruder.

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