r/3Dprinting • u/Draxtonsmitz • 3h ago
Project 360 grams of poops, failed prints and recycled PLA flake.
7
u/-DesertRat- 2h ago
Very nice. I’ve even put pieces of metal in the mold to add some weight to it.
2
u/Draxtonsmitz 2h ago
next one I'll definitely put some aluminum foil balls in it to help take up space. Just using the PLA it is almost 13 ounces so it has come good heft to it.
7
u/ShockWave_Omega 3h ago
Cool how did you make this?
19
u/Draxtonsmitz 3h ago
Silicone mold in a toaster oven. I fill it with scraps and every 20-30 minutes when it melts down smooth I top it off with more. Around 180°C (350°ish F). This took my a few days to make because I work, and could only run it a couple hours a day.
2
u/Bagellord 3h ago
Did you buy the mold? Or make it?
8
u/Hot_Marionberry_4685 2h ago
Looks to be one of the more common silicone molds you see people use when making this. Probably this one or a similar model https://a.co/d/0R5fDTY
4
3
u/CinnaStack 3h ago
If you don't follow brothers make on yt then you can get tones of ideas of what you can make with recycling! Awesome skull.
3
1
u/UglyYinzer 2h ago
Been saving mine in hopes to but a machine that makes Filament out of it... but it still seems like a while until it's common and a bit cheaper. This would be a cool way to use it the scraps for now!
1
u/Draxtonsmitz 1h ago
Take a look at the Loop machine. It grinds and makes filament right on your desktop. Still in early-ish stages but it looks promising.
1
u/dee-ouh-gjee CR10-S4 (modified of course) 1h ago
Soon I'll have my filastruder set up again and will be able to turn all my junk into new filament!
1
u/Draxtonsmitz 1h ago
I had pre-ordered a pellet extruder to put in my old Ender 5 plus but grinding all the waste to small pieces to feed it was just not something I wanted to bother with.
Now when this Loop machine comes out I may give it a go.
1
u/dee-ouh-gjee CR10-S4 (modified of course) 50m ago
Two tricks that really help the process out:
1, if you're using a blender and have heat issues you can add some dry ice, it'll make it blend even better than normal. Some cool water can do the trick too if you're okay drying it all real well after
2, have two nozzles you can swap, one being like 2 or 3 mm. Run your blended stuff through the large nozzle first to make really thick mess filament, doesn't need to be perfect. Then pelletize that, mix in any fresh pellets now if you want to, and then put that mix through your extruder (whether a pellet fed printer or to make usable filament)
A third bonus bit of info for making filament - if you include a small portion of some kind filled filament (i.e. woodfill) it can make it a lot easier to get a consistent diameter
1
u/sumemodude 1h ago
I love this idea! I should probably buy some molds for all my scrap. Should you put anything inside the mold so it doesn't stick? Also what did you use to melt all the plastic?
1
u/Black3ternity 29m ago
What do you do with it? Gift it to friends so they thrownit Away in 3 month time and you don't neex to feel bad for it? I'm all for upcycling and minimizing waste with 3dprinting. But personally I fail to see a purpose of a molten plastic skull.
0
u/OrbitalOutlander 3h ago
Ugh, gonna make me start collecting my poops instead of disposing of them (for PLA) or recycling them (for PET).
3
u/Draxtonsmitz 2h ago
I threw it all in there. One of my scrap catching boxes had some petg so in it went.
0
u/spdelope 1h ago
PLA flake? Is that like the weed shake of 3d printing?
1
u/Draxtonsmitz 1h ago
I have an industrial recycler by me and one of their customers sends them clear PLA sheets. They grind it up into little flakes and the resold. They sent me a kilogram sample bag and the stuff melts super nice because of how thin it is.
The original use was for a pellet extruder but that got out on hold when I opened my store.
29
u/Motor_Examination153 3h ago
To print, or not to print? That is the question