Is Injection Molding the Solution to 3D Print Recycling?

I turned my contaminated 3D printer waste into homemade recycled plastic products using desktop injection molding... and honestly, I wasn't expecting it to work this well. Brought to you by PCBWay. Use code “PCBWay-TheNextLayer-10” at https://jle.vi/pcbway to get $10 OFF any order of $30 or more.

I've spent the last two years trying to recycle 3d printer waste back into usable filament. And while it works, (mostly) it's messy, time-consuming, and incredibly sensitive to contamination. So when plasticpreneur offered to loan me their new "GO!" desktop injection molding machine, I couldn't resist putting it to the test.

In this video, I take contaminated, 100% recycled PLA from failed 3d prints and 3d printer poop... and try turning it into finished products through DIY injection molding. No virgin material, no shortcuts, just shredded-up 3d printer waste, mold design experiments, and plenty of trial and error.

After weeks of testing, learning, and dozens of parts, I think I finally have an answer to whether injection molding could be a practical solution for DIY 3D print recycling. And honestly... I think there's something here.

Let's get after it.

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🎥 IN THIS VIDEO: 🎥
00:00 Introduction
01:14 The Problem(s)
03:53 The Machine
05:37 Machine Setup
05:51 Injection Mold Options
07:01 Injection Mold Design
09:37 Getting Professional Molds Made
11:38 Initial Tests
21:28 Full-Scale Production
23:04 The Results
23:57 Conclusion

🔗 LINKS MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO: 🔗
👉 plasticpreneur: https://www.plasticpreneur.com/ - use code TNL at checkout for 5% OFF
👉 HeyGears PAH270 Resin: https://jle.vi/heygears
👉My 3D Printing Filament Recycling Series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNAIMkOXd_V_o9dkTBbgP9_CMdNdmOdwv
👉3D Printing Filament Recycling Challenges: https://youtu.be/TAT1BYj9ygs

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Local Elevator by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

#plasticrecycling #3dprinting #injectionmolding