The last few times we've done slideshows on materials for 3D printing, at least a couple of the materials were recycled plastics. Since then, we've seen some new recycled materials, new recycling machines, and other news about recycling 3D-printed materials. So we've put them all together in one place.
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One of the plastics recyclers is designed to work on the International Space Station to turn plastic waste into filament for NASA's zero-gravity 3D printers, currently in development (see the third slide). In other unusual news about recycling plastics for 3D printing, a Michigan Technological University team has invented a system for classifying plastics and a comprehensive recycling coding system that reflects the performance differences of different resins. The codes can be embedded in 3D-printed items so they can be more easily and usefully recycled for future use (see the fourth slide).
Ann R. Thryft is senior technical editor, materials & assembly, for Design News. She's been writing about manufacturing- and electronics-related technologies for 25 years, covering manufacturing materials & processes, alternative energy, machine vision, and all kinds of communications.
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