The “Plastic Smoothie”- Now You Can Utilize The Leftover Filament…

3D Printing is becoming more sensitive to plastic pollution that is created while printing the objects.

The biggest environmental issue that comes along with 3D Printing is the leftover plastic filament or spool after printing your  3D object.

Throwing away the filament in the trash is the only option you are left with as there are broken pieces of it and joining them is a costly process as there comes a  filament fuser or joiner which many enthusiasts have already experimented making. The below video explains how with the help of easy tools you can join the filaments.

 

There are many methods to recycle the filament and use it the next time, but the method shown in this article is more interesting and leads you to better 3D objects.

Designer Agustin Flowalistik shows us how to recycle 3D printing waste by creating a Plastic Smoothie, which can 0be used with a laser cutter to create vibrant objects. 

Agustin Flowalistik came up with an easy and cheap way to recycle failed designs and leftover filaments by making a concoct of a Plastic Smoothie. He uses the kitchen appliances and laser cutting technology you can create new objects with the endless array of color. After collecting all the leftover filament and making it into a finely shredded plastic scrap, melt the colorful mess of plastic in an oven.With this freshly baked sheet of recycled PLA, you can get creative using a laser cutter and a bit of vibrant imagination.

We give a brief overview of the “Plastic Smoothie” project below so you can get what the project is about. He shared it on Instructables and was developed with the help of non-profit TecnoLab La Rueca Asociacion  to increase the quality of life and well-being of disadvantaged communities. You can know more about how to effectively use plastic by controlling pollution here- Worry Not!! You Can Now Reuse Waste Plastic For Your 3D Prints.

Philosophy of the project

Affordable:  Electrical appliances are used for most of the projects as it is cheaper to use

Accessible: the machines used should be easily available in online stores.

Open: It’s an open source project and anyone can be a part of it.

What do you need?

The first thing that you need is an abundance of PLA filament scraps and failed prints.Also, an access to a laser cutter that you will find on Fablab or a local makerspace. If you want to know more about laser printing read here 3D Laser Printing is different from what you think.

There are other supplies needed for starting the plastic smoothie project, this is the checklist:

• Wood panels (40 x 30 x 0.3cm)
• Laser cutter (Flowalistik uses the Epilog Mini 18 40W)
• Blender (recommended 1250 Watts or above)
• Mini Oven (with oven tray)
• Parchment paper

Flowalistik shares some tips to make this project affordable, like using an old blender if you have any as if you start using it to shred plastic you won’t use it for making juice.Before using failed prints make sure to break them before blending them.You won’t want your blender to get damaged. He uses PLA for the project as ABS contains impurities.

Putting it all Together

The first step is gathering and blending your PLA filament, you can take the opportunity to decide the colors and textures you want to create. After the recycled plastic is shredded up, take an over. Flowalistik uses oven paper on the base of the tray, bending the corners to avoid any molten plastic from spilling oven tray and start baking.

After experimenting the maker found that the best results by melting the small plastic bits at 190-200 C for 20 – 25 minutes. After the plastic straps are melted, you need to quickly remove them and flatten them out on the wooden panels. Perform the pressing procedure quickly as the melted plastic cools down. Keep the oven paper on the plastic and add as much weight as you can onto the wood panels, and you’ll have a perfect sheet of recycled PLA.

Finally, Flowalistik uses an Epilog Laser Mini 18 40W laser cutter to cut the 3mm plastic panels. You can use the same settings as you would for a 3mm sheet of acrylic. The designer adds that he had to increase the power of the laser in order to make the engraving more apparent.

You can learn more about the Plastic Smoothie project and the laser cutting process on Flowalistik’s Instructables post. If you want to continue supporting the designer and his intriguing projects, head on over to his Patreon page.

Plastic pollution is what we are dealing with every day and thus we have to take every possible step to stop it. So do join the “Plastic Smoothie” project and get rid of all the plastic extras and failed prints.

Geeetech enlightens you on such projects which will help you save the environment.

Credits: instructables.com,all3dp.com

Top 10 3D Printed models if you love video games!

As an avid gamer, there will be loads of intricate figurines and memorabilia from your favorite video games that you will want to add to your collection. And if you’re someone who owns a 3D printer, then you can very well make your own models!

So in today’s Top 10 list, let’s take a look at some of the coolest 3D printed models if you love video games!

Overwatch- Reaper

Thanks to the amazing 3D printing community it’s super easy to download and print just about any gaming model. And since Overwatch is so popular it’s not at all hard to find a 3D model of your favorite avatar.

If you’re wondering which watch models on Thingiverse happens to be the most popular(and the one with the most amount of makes) its shockingly not Tracer, but in fact- Reaper. And if you too want to print your own then you can find it on Thingiverse here.

Witcher- Wolf Medallion

This Wolf Medallion may not vibrate like Geralt’s, but it definitely looks cool enough to pass off as the real thing! Designed by Daniel_W you can print out your own in silver PLA or paint it up after. Either way, it looks really cool and once you string it into a chain.

 

8 Bit Mario

There are so many Mario models to choose from but this 8-bit version by jakejake is hands down our favorite. With 26 pieces to print, assembling this 3D printed Mario is a fun little puzzle all on its own. But once you’re done putting it all together, the final result is well worth it. Don’t you think so? Find the STL files and all the instructions for this design here.

World of Warcraft- The Lich King

If you’re a fan of  World of Warcraft then you’ll agree that with a world so massive, there are plentiful characters that you can 3D print. However, we had to include the ice cold Lich King- Arthas Menethil because there’s nothing more badass than a figurine of Arthas wielding the Frostmourne! Made by Matthew McKeown you can find this design on MyMiniFactory here.

Legend of Zelda- Majoras Mask

We could probably make a whole list solely on all the awesome Legend of Zelda printables available out there. But if we’re going to pick just one then it has to be this fantastic design of Majoras Mask made by WeeMadSausage.

The design itself is intricate, vibrant and beautiful. You don’t have to use a wood filament but using it does add a certain charm to the mask, making it more realistic.

 

Portal- Companion Cube

Doesn’t this 3D printed Companion Cube look like it came straight out of the Portal game? Created by Ellindsey this model consists of 40 different 3D printed parts that are designed to snap together well enough that you won’t even need any glue!

Minecraft- Chess Set

What do you get when you merge the world of Minecraft with chess? A creative and aesthetic design by PotatoFi that is sure to rekindle your curiosity in the game of chess. And even if you don’t intend to play, it makes for a great showpiece too. You can download the STL files for this print here along with the instructions and tips from the maker.

Doom- Electronic Doomguy models

After taking a look at these adorable figurines you may find it hard to believe that Doom is a brutally intense game where you’re killing demons but nevertheless, we love these models made by zembacraftworks. Oh and they’re electronic too! Check out Zemba Craftworks easy tutorial so you that you can make your own!

Mortal Kombat- Sub Zero Mask

You too can be as cool as Sub Zero(get it?) once you 3D print his mask! Designed by Geoffro you can use this mask as a prop or even as cosplay. Just be sure to credit the designer! Find the print files here!

The Elder Scrolls V:  Vampire Lord Bust

Create your very own eerie Vampire Lord Bust from Skyrim thanks to designer Vsions and his stunning 3D printed model. There are two parts to this model- the main bust and some small horns which can later be assembled. Follow the instructions and STL files available on Thingiverse- here

Need a 3D printer to get started? Go check out our Store!

Credits: thingiverse.com

These Beer Bottles got their 3D Printing Makeover done and it’s Cool.

If your weekends are always spent partying either at home chilling or at a pub and Beer is your favorite drink along with a passion for 3D Printing.When you go to a bar you order your drinks maybe soft drinks or hard drinks, get high and enjoy the moments.But do you ever notice the bottles, each one is different, the packaging, the labels, brands and also the prices.

You just comment “Huh, neat” grab the drink and enjoy getting high, after all only what is inside the bottle matters.Few people realize just how much work goes into packaging redesign, or how it actually does impact the buyer, even on a subliminal level. Many big teams of designers work to get a new look which is just perfect, while the manufacturer evaluates the costs and decides if a change is worth it.

Rather than throwing away the bottles and adding up to the pollution, you can take a step to revolutionize things and this article will tell you exactly how you can.We have bought a good news for you, so get excited.

The Australian Beer that recently underwent bottle makeover is James Boag’s.  The makers of the bottle were thinking about getting a makeover done but also thought whether it would be worth the money. They didn’t want to make a change just because they could; the new design decided would have to be attractive enough to be well-received by customers. They were hoping to make this determination before significant time and money were spent on the redesign.

The packaging company Orora, that supplies James Boag’s bottles, it decided to go for 3D Printing prototype for the The organization contacted 3D Systems On Demand Manufacturing, which went up against the challenge of making a 3D printed bottle with an indistinguishable clearness and tone from glass, and also the same close by heave.new bottle.Using SLA 3D printing technology and VisiJet SL Clear resin, 3D Systems 3D printed four prototypes, countering the disparities in weight by adjusting the interior wall thickness of the design file based on the density of the resin. They also carefully color-matched to get the same green as the original bottles.

Subsequent to being 3D printed, the bottles experienced an in-house completing protocol that included wet and dry sanding and the application of a surface tint and last clear coat. As per Tracy Beard, General Manager for the On Demand Manufacturing office in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, a large number of clear parts are delivered each week in that office alone.

It took just seven days for the models to be finished, and soon thereafter they were furnished with labels and caps and loaded with fluid. They were then placed in a shop for observing, and criticism demonstrated that the new plan was a hit, giving the James Boag’s group the certainty to proceed with the full overhaul.

Thus the Boag’s  Company did a makeover of their Beer Bottles with help of 3D Printing so now you can also have a 3D Printed bottle as an aesthetic in your house.Thus you even don’t throw the bottle and keep it with you.

Get set started with 3D printing right away with your own 3D Printer which will help to get the best from 3D Printing. Explore your vision in the new era of 3D Printing with Geeetech.

Credits:3ders.org.

Troubleshooting: What to do when your supports fall apart?

As you continue to model and 3D print various objects, you’ll find that many of them will need support structures to hold the design up. And the more complex the object, the more crucial it is to design a good support structure.

However, on some occasions, you may find your support fail to do its job resulting in a failed or messy print.

The 3D Printing Problem-

While printing your object, you’ll realize that your support doesn’t look as stable as it should. There may be gaps and it may even fall apart or crack in some places. Weak supports are also stringy and overall your print just looks like a hot mess(not in a nice way!)

Slicer Settings

Most of the time we tend to stick to the default slicer settings provided by the slicer applications. This may work for standard print jobs, but while printing more complex objects it is important to change these settings. For objects like supports, your default slicer setting will not always work. The more complex the object and overhangs, the more attention you have to pay to the slicer settings.

Type of support used

Thinner support structures are easier to remove but are not always strong enough and can break apart during your print process. On the other hand, stronger supports are denser but are much harder to pry off. At the same time, thinner supports may move easily if there are any sudden movements or vibrations from the 3D printer itself.

Many a time, tall and intricate prints will have delicate and thin supports so that they come off clean without ruining the print. Though this sounds good in theory, this kind of support doesn’t offer much stability to tall prints. Triangular and grid-shaped supports work better as they add additional structure under large overhangs.

Problem with the filament

Filaments that are old or cheap are weaker and tend to break more easily which is another reason why your supports don’t hold up. Old and expired filaments won’t bond easily to each other and the structure can tend to have more gaps and cracks.

Lastly, don’t forget to keep an eye on your printer. Many times, there are a few loose screws and nuts that can create vibrations during the print and if your support structures are not strong enough they will fall apart.

How to fix it?

Modify your support structures

Rather than choosing thin and delicate supports, opt for grid or block shaped supports that can easily take the weight of overhangs without breaking down. You can choose triangular supports for objects that do not have sufficient adhesion to the print bed starting out with a strong base.

Another cool thing to do is using water-soluble support material like PVA glue. In this way, you can increase the support density and make block shaped supports without having to worry about them coming off.

Ensure sufficient adhesion

For a strong foundation, your 3D print must stick to the print bed. To increase this adhesion you can use the help of brims and rafts. Once your support has bonded to the print platform, it reduces the chances of it breaking or slipping off.

Use another filament

If your filament is old or absorbs too much moisture it can cause problems during your print job. You can check out our easy guide to store your filaments correctly and prevent common problems like snapping and stripping. And if the problem is indeed with the filament then change the filament and run a test print to see if there are improvements in the supports. Alternately, avoiding buying cheap which will tend to break more easily.

Increase the support density

Supports that are thin will be more prone to breaking and falling apart. So to make your supports stronger, go into the slicer settings and increase the support density.  This will make your support sturdy but on the other hand, it will be tougher to remove them from your 3D print.

Tighten the grub screws

If the pulleys are not secured there will be many shifts and vibrations. This can shake the print and cause the supports and other parts of the print to wobble. To fix this problem, use an Allen key and tighten all the grub screws.

Credits: ultimaker.com, formloabs.com

3D Laser Printing is different from what you think…

Everyone is getting familiar with 3D Printing and the new technologies that are evolving with its help. Businesses have started using 3D Printing for their product manufacturing or prototype designing thus it is an additive manufacturing method.

3D Printing is such a hot topic in the industry which intrigues almost every industry, right from fashion or food to architecture and more.

Whereas, Laser 3D Printing is where a laser beam helps to create a prototype or a product in a more precise manner. Thus it’s a whole new level of 3D printing itself. It provides a big help for the manufacturing industries to create exact prototypes.

What is 3D Laser Printing?

It is all about Subtractive manufacturing technology and laser added direct metal tooling, which helps to form complex parts using high power laser and metal powder. Unlike normal 3D Printing, 3D Laser printing uses a beam thinner than a human hair to print a whole new object. The laser beams have the power to cut, shape and engrave 3D Printed parts.

They have common working capabilities like CNC milling. But like CNC milling, the 3D laser printer doesn’t have a milling head. They are all in one printer yet with some limitations. These printers are expensive as they include a 3D printer, a 3D scanner, a laser engraver, and/or a CNC mill.

What is Selective Laser Sintering?

3D Printing being a vast industry, it has many processes which are still not that common or known just like 3D Laser printing, SLS. Selective Laser Sintering is a part os 3D Laser Printing is an additive manufacturing method. It’s a powder bed fusion method where nylon is transferred from the container holding fresh powder material onto the build stage in the process chamber with a recoating tool. A laser then selectively scans the thin layer of powder, sintering together powder particles in the shape of the cross-section of the first layer of the 3D part.

Glowforge is a magical printer- Best Printer

Dan Shipiro a former CEO of Google wanted to make the laser technology more usable. The aim of Glowforge- an all in one laser 3D printer is to create more beautiful things by giving the objects proper shapes and cuts. The company says it can cut wood, fabrics, leather, paper, linoleum, food, and even some plastics and also engrave metal and glass. It aims to help artisans and businesses to create innovative products just using one machine. The initial price of the printer with pre-order with discount is $3995 and thus is a cheap 3D Laser Printer.

Cost cutting is also something that the Glowforge developers are focussing on thus substituting the hardware components with sophisticated software. For a simpler design, there are no buttons on the Glowforge interface.Also, a camera inside the laser cutting chamber and image processing in the cloud will take the place of a motion planner which usually determines how the laser cuts the material.

There was a Glowforge Kickstarter project funded for a  month in 2015 which was very successful and lead to many people taking interest in a laser printer.

Conclusion:

3D laser printing is also becoming popular just like normal 3D Printing and is used for personal as well as industrial use. Many 3D printer manufacturers are creating Laser printers as they perform well and are all in one. Post-processing becomes easy with the Laser printers thus reducing your work.’

3D Laser Printing is a new wave in this Ocean of 3D Printing!!

Credits- all3dp.com,sharehack.com,youtube.com

Can you 3D print a 3D printer?

3D printers can pretty much print just about anything. It’s even possible to 3D print your very own gummy candy now. So it only makes sense that we should be able to 3D print a 3D printer itself, right? Well, the answer’s a bit more complicated than a simple yes or no. But let’s takes a look-

From prosthetic arms and organs to 3D printing an entire house, it’s safe to say that 3D printing has come a long way and changed our lives like never before.

However, one question that we’re all curious about is Can you 3d print a 3d printer?

Is It Possible?

Most of it- Yes! A 3D printer can print out most of the parts that you will need to build your own 3D printer. The structural components that make up a 3D printing machine can be printed and assembled even though the process itself would be time-consuming. But 3D printing the electronic parts is certainly more complex.

Reprap- The 3D printer that prints itself!

 

RepRap was the first ever self-replicating 3D printer designed for the purpose of 3D printing another one! Developed in 2008 by Dr. Adrian Bowyer, RepRap can print more than 50% of the components required to assemble a whole new 3D printer and the best part? It’s open source and freely available so anyone can make one! In addition to this, RepRap uses FDM technology which means the 3D printed parts can easily be made using the popular ABS and PLA filaments.

However, some of the electronic and metal parts especially a fully functioning motor are still hard to 3D print though there have been several attempts.

This means that although you can print most of the parts of a new 3D printer, we’re still not all the way there. 3D printing an entire motor and other mechanical parts are not something that can be done easily even if we use metal and other materials.

The good news?

Since 3D printing is an ever-evolving industry, we’re sure it’s only a matter of time that we print a fully functional 3D printer complete with the electronic and mechanical parts.

But until then, we can use RepRap! And since it’s an open source project free for all to use, you can build a 3d printer right from your home. In fact, Reprap’s Prusa i3 is one of the most used 3D printers in the world!  And with a comparatively lower cost and easy-to-assemble 3D printer kit, it’s easy to see why.

Apart from this, you can even check out Geeetech’s very own Prusa I3 A Pro 3D printer which is a great DIY kit and super easy to assemble!

Credits: reprap.org, space.com

Multi-Material 3D Printing is a lot more fun than you think!

The 3D Printing community is constantly making new efforts and updating new processes to get things done easily. The most difficult process is multi-material and multi-color 3D printing. Both are time-consuming processes and also more fun. You can know everything about multi-color printing at Now you can 3D print your models in multi-color.

During the initial stages of 3D Printing, the whole object had to be printed using a single material. That’s impossible because you can’t print a house or fashion accessories with a single material.Thus Multi-material 3D Printing, prints a single object with two or more filaments rather than just using PLA, ABS or any other filament.

This is a bit tricky! You can use a dual extruder printer or get things done with a single extruder printer itself.

The question is how?

A Dual extruder has multiple extruders that allow you to have multiple filaments ‘piped in’ and ready to be used whenever the object being printed requires them, and this is where the saved time comes from.Having different filaments ‘ready to go’ means you no longer have to pause a print, empty out the extruder of the previous filament, feed in the next filament, and resume the print every time you need a different material. The printer will simply call on which filament it needs when it needs it.

While with a single extruder when you want to print a multi-material thing you have to replace the previous material with the other one and then print it. This takes time as in 3D Printing it prints layer-wise and if you have multiple layers of multiple materials than it requires a lot of time just changing the filament.

How to create a multi-material print with a Single Extruder printer?

The secret? Spread the different materials across different layers of a single extruder printer. Both of the models that are shown have the materials at separate heights; on separate layers. The process basically works by printing with one material to a certain height, pausing the printer, switching materials, and continuing the print.

Step 1: Choose your 3D Model

Icecats has explained this with really well with an example of printing a toilet plunger as it has a flexible filament and a wood filament.So you need to find a good 3D model from Thingiverse or MyMiniFactory or any other 3D Printing website. You need to keep certain things in mind like:

• Choose the object wisely which makes sense of carrying out a multi-material printing process.
• Keep a certain height within two materials as this is the key to the process like the flexible plungers base is lower than the wooden handle.
• See whether the model is printable with the desired materials.

Step 2: GCODE and other settings

• Slice your 3D Model into a GCODE with your 3D Printers host software.
• Look up the speed settings into it and then set it up to the slowest.
• Find a proper balance of layer height, infill, and retraction settings for your prints.
• After you are ready, heat the printer and fill the first material into it. You can change the temperature later when you want to fill in the other material. The first material used by icecats was Ninjaflex.

Step 3: Switching materials

• Monitor the printer as the first material is extruded.
• When you want to switch the material, just pause the printer, it usually takes a bit of time for the printer to stop, raise the printer to 10 mm height on the z-axis.
• To prevent the leakage you need to place a piece of paper below the extruder. If necessary, adjust the hot end temperature in the Manual Control tab to suit the second material.
• Switch to your second material and purge the extruder until the new material comes out pure. Remove your piece of paper and continue the print. Repeat this process as many times as necessary.

Step 4: The Final Results

Icecats tells how his 3D Print resulted in, he basically used two different  PLA/NinjaFlex and wood/NinjaFlex. He says that both tests worked well for him.The purple and white cylinder shown above was printed with PLA and NinjaFlex. He has stressed that the print until it broke- two PLA layers spit apart, which means that the NinjaFlex/PLA bond is actually stronger than the PLA/PLA bond! The bonding between the wood/NinjaFlex was similarly high strength.

Here are some other ideas for prints to try.

• hard PLA/ABS box with NinjaFlex hinge
• hard PLA/ABS model car with NinjaFlex shocks and tires
• wood “table” with PLA/ABS legs

Thus you can try multi-material printing with your single extruder printers as well and give your prints the real touch as you want.

Get these dual or single extruder printers for better prints and experiences of 3D Printing.

Credits: instructables.com.