Reducing the amount of waste, we consume is a great way to reduce our environmental impact. Buying local and supporting your community cuts down on energy used in the manufacturing and transporting of goods.
Recycling uses natural resources to turn waste into new products that can be used again. It also creates jobs compared to landfilling.
Reusing materials is one of the best ways to reduce your environmental impact. For instance, rather than buying a new pair of jeans, you can donate an old pair to a thrift store or give them to a friend. Similarly, you can recycle plastic shopping bags and repurpose cardboard boxes for other purposes.
Using recycled plastic helps reduce your carbon footprint and the energy used to produce and transport new products. In fact, according to the EPA, recycling 10,000 tons of material creates 36 jobs compared to six jobs from landfilling that same amount (EPA, 2002).
A machine called Protocycler makes desktop 3D printing more sustainable. Essentially, the machine lets makers make their filaments from recycled plastics. It allows them to eliminate waste, significantly reduce costs, and increase creative control. It is achieved by utilizing ReDeTec’s patented technology to process plastic more energy efficiently and at improved levels of quality.
The most environmentally preferred way to manage waste is not to create it in the first place – reduce it! Reducing the amount of stuff we throw away helps save landfill space and reduces the energy needed to collect or manufacture raw materials and ship them from wherever they’re made to where they’ll be sold. It also cuts greenhouse gas emissions.
Another excellent way to reduce packaging waste is to buy recycled products (like paper bags, plastic containers, and even old clothes and toys). You can also help by taking reusable bags to the store, using reusable mugs and dishes at work and home, and donating unwanted items to local charities like food banks or crisis centers.
The ReDeTec ProtoCycler recycles plastic pellets and other 3D printing waste material – including supports, raft materials, and obsolete prototypes – into new filaments that can be used in any compatible printer. The machine uses a dual extruder system which allows two different materials to be used simultaneously and eliminates the need to change filament during printing.
Much plastic is wasted in 3D printing – support, raft material, failed prints, and old prototypes.
The ProtoCycler has a hand-powered mechanical grinder and an integrated spoiler, so you don’t need additional hardware to create your custom filament. Its revolutionary extrusion technology is based on patented MixFlow. It exposes the plastic to less energy for a shorter time, making it more than three times more efficient than similar devices on the market.
It will also save you 80% of the cost of purchasing filament. It will pay for itself in no time and lower your environmental footprint. The device’s settings are open source, so you can experiment with different materials and combinations of materials to find the best combination for your needs.
Close the Loop
In the short term, Toronto-based startup ReDeTec hopes its ProtoCycler will help 3D printer users lower their ecological footprint by making filament on autopilot. This desktop machine has a built-in grinder, extruder, and spooler that recycles waste plastic from 3D printing (rafting, support material, or obsolete prototypes) or raw virgin plastic pellets into a spool of custom-length filament for use with any printer at a fraction of the cost of buying new spools.
This process is a step towards the circular economy, an alternative to the current linear resource consumption model. A vital goal of the circular economy is to keep products and materials in use by recapturing them at end-of-life for repair, reuse, or recycling. It can be accomplished by designing out waste and pollution, reducing product energy efficiency, using more recycled content, and helping regenerate natural systems. The ProtoCycler+ accomplishes this by grinding up raw plastic or waste, mixing it with hot MixFlow, and melting it into a uniformly gooey mess fed through a brass nozzle and automatically measuring for diameter through two optical diameter sensors.
Kupunguza kiasi cha taka tunazotumia ni njia nzuri ya kupunguza athari zetu za mazingira. Ununuzi wa ndani na kusaidia jamii yako hupunguza nishati inayotumiwa katika utengenezaji na usafirishaji wa bidhaa. Utaratibu wa kuchakata vitu vya asili hutumiwa kugeuza taka kuwa bidhaa mpya ambazo zinaweza kutumiwa tena. Pia huunda kazi ikilinganishwa na kuhifadhi taka. Kutumia tena vifaa ni moja ya njia bora za kupunguza athari zako za mazingira. Kwa mfano, badala ya kununua suruali mpya, unaweza kuigaana na rafiki yako au kuifanya kuwa zawadi kwa mtu mwingine. Vivyo hivyo, unaweza kuchakata mifuko ya plastiki ya ununuzi na kutumia masanduku ya makaratasi kwa makusudi mengine. Kutumia plastiki iliyorudishwa husaidia kupunguza alama yako ya kaboni na nishati inayotumiwa kutengeneza na kusafirisha bidhaa mpya. Kwa kweli, kulingana na EPA, kuchakata tani 10,000 za vifaa huunda kazi 36 ikilinganishwa na kazi sita kutoka kwa kuondoa kiasi hicho cha taka (EPA, 2002). ProtoCycle ni kifaa cha kuchapisha cha 3D ambacho kina uwezo wa kuchapisha kwa urahisi. Kimsingi, mashine hiyo huwawezesha watengenezaji kutengeneza nyuzi zao kutokana na plastiki zilizorudishwa. Inawawezesha kuondoa taka, kupunguza gharama kwa kiasi kikubwa, na kuongeza udhibiti wa ubunifu. Ni kupatikana kwa kutumia ReDeTec patented teknolojia ya kusindika plastiki zaidi nishati ufanisi na katika ngazi ya ubora wa juu. Njia bora zaidi ya mazingira ya kusimamia taka ni kutounda kabisa <unk> kupunguza! Kupunguza kiasi cha vitu tunavyotupa husaidia kuokoa nafasi ya kutupa taka na hupunguza nishati inayohitajika kukusanya au kutengeneza malighafi na kuzisafirisha kutoka mahali popote zinapofanywa hadi mahali watakapouzwa. Pia hupunguza uzalishaji wa gesi za chafu. Njia nyingine nzuri ya kupunguza taka ya ufungaji ni kununua bidhaa zilizotengenezwa upya (kama vile mifuko ya karatasi, vyombo vya plastiki, na hata nguo na vitu vya kuchezea vya zamani). Unaweza pia kusaidia kwa kuchukua mifuko ya matumizi ya mara kwa mara kwenye duka, kutumia vikombe na vyombo vya matumizi ya mara kwa mara kazini na nyumbani, na kutoa vitu visivyotakiwa kwa misaada ya ndani kama vile benki za chakula au vituo vya dharura. ReDeTec ProtoCycler ni mashine ya kuchakata nyenzo za plastiki na vifaa vingine vya kuchapisha 3D, pamoja na vifaa vya kuunga mkono, vifaa vya raft, na prototypes zilizopitwa na wakati, katika filaments mpya ambazo zinaweza kutumika katika printa yoyote inayofaa. Mashine hutumia mfumo wa extruder mbili ambayo inaruhusu vifaa viwili tofauti kutumika kwa wakati mmoja na kuondoa haja ya kubadilisha filament wakati wa kuchapisha. Plastiki nyingi hutupwa katika uchapishaji wa 3D - msaada, vifaa vya raft, uchapishaji ulioshindwa, na mifano ya zamani. ProtoCycler ina mkono-powered mashine grinder na spoiler jumuishi, hivyo huna haja ya vifaa vya ziada ya kujenga filament yako desturi. Teknolojia yake ya mapinduzi ya extrusion inategemea MixFlow iliyopatikana kwa hati miliki. Kwa hivyo, inatoa nishati kidogo kwa muda mfupi, na inafanya kazi mara tatu zaidi kuliko vifaa vingine vya kawaida. Pia, unaweza kuokoa 80% ya gharama ya ununuzi wa filament. Itakuwa kulipa kwa ajili yake mwenyewe katika muda mfupi na kupunguza alama yako ya mazingira. Mipangilio ya kifaa ni chanzo wazi, hivyo unaweza majaribio na vifaa tofauti na mchanganyiko wa vifaa kupata mchanganyiko bora kwa ajili ya mahitaji yako. Kwa muda mfupi, ReDeTec, kampuni ya Toronto, inatarajia ProtoCycle itasaidia watumiaji wa printa za 3D kupunguza alama zao za ikolojia kwa kutengeneza filamu kwa autopilot. Mashine hii ya desktop ina grinder iliyojengwa, extruder, na spooler ambayo hutengeneza plastiki ya taka kutoka kwa uchapishaji wa 3D (rafting, vifaa vya msaada, au prototypes zilizopitwa na wakati) au pellets za plastiki za bikira mbichi katika spool ya filament ya urefu wa kawaida kwa matumizi na printa yoyote kwa sehemu ya gharama ya kununua spools mpya. Utaratibu huu ni hatua kuelekea uchumi mviringo, mbadala wa mtindo wa sasa wa matumizi ya rasilimali ya linear. Lengo muhimu la uchumi wa mviringo ni kuweka bidhaa na vifaa katika matumizi kwa kuzirudisha mwisho wa maisha kwa ajili ya ukarabati, matumizi ya tena, au kuchakata. Hii inaweza kufanywa kwa kuunda nje ya taka na uchafuzi, kupunguza ufanisi wa nishati ya bidhaa, kutumia maudhui zaidi ya kuchakata, na kusaidia kurudisha mifumo ya asili. ProtoCycle+ inafanya hivyo kwa kusaga plastiki mbichi au taka, kuichanganya na MixFlow moto, na kuyeyusha kuwa mchanganyiko wa kawaida wa gundi unaolishwa kupitia nozzle ya shaba na kupima kiotomatiki kwa kipenyo kupitia sensorer mbili za kipenyo cha macho.