Innovations for Recycling Residual Resin in 3D Printing

Recycling polyolefin polymer from failed 3D printed objects to reduce waste and environmental impact. Recycling involves dissolving the polymer in a solvent, separating any fusing compound, and evaporating the solvent to recover pure polymer. The fusing compound is removed because it's not easily recycled due to residual components in the 3D printed objects. The recycled polymer can then be used in injection molding applications. The pelletizing step involves grinding the 3D printed objects into small pieces and extruding them into injection molding pellets. This allows recycling of the polymer even when it has failed in the 3D printer.

A method for producing metal castings using 3D printing and inorganic binders. The method selects a shape-forming material selectively based on manufacturing and shape characteristics. The material is 3D printed to create a mold. An inorganic binder solution with at least 51% inorganic material is coated onto the printed mold. The mold is dehydrated and filled with hot metal. After cooling, the metal part is removed, and the mold is reclaimed. The inorganic binder and shape-forming material are reused. The inorganic binder allows dehydration and gas-free metal filling.

Reducing waste during 3D printing by recycling excess resin if only one type is used in a layer. After printing and leveling a single-material layer, the leveled-off material is returned to the printer for reuse. But if a layer has multiple resins, the excess is discarded. This avoids wasting expensive and toxic resin by recycling what can be reused. It also reduces costs and environmental impact.

A recycling method for 3D printed objects made of polymers like nylon (polyamide) recovers the polymer material instead of disposal. Recycling involves dissolving the polymer in a solvent that dissolves the polyamide but not the fusing agent, separating the polymer from the fusing agent and solvent, and evaporating the solvent to get pure recycled polymer. This allows the fusing agent components like carbon black and fusing compounds to be separated from the polymer for reuse. The solvent can be cresol or fluorinated alcohol.

Additive manufacturing resins that enable the recycling of 3D printed objects. The resin is a single-cure formulation containing a reactive blocked prepolymer, crosslinker, photoinitiator, etc. The reactive blocked prepolymer has reactive end groups that can be deblocked during recycling. When the printed object is ground into particles, the deblocked prepolymer can be regenerated by heating with a reactive blocking agent. This allows extracting and reusing the prepolymer instead of wasting it in the printed object.

Recycling method for objects made by stereolithography additive manufacturing that allows reuse of the thermoplastic material. The recycling involves extracting the crosslinked heat-polymerized portion from the object using a solvent, leaving the uncrosslinked light-polymerized portion behind. The solvent-extracted crosslinked polymer is then separated and reused, while the remaining light-polymerized portion can be thermoformed into new objects.

3D printer system with a recycling system to recover and reuse incidental and non-solidified build material during and after print jobs. The system collects unused powder or granules from the build area, cleans and conditions them, and then feeds the recycled material back into the printer for future builds. This reduces waste and saves costs compared to continuously replacing the full-built material container.

Environmentally safe waste ink disposal for 3D printers that avoids the need for separate waste containers and shipping. The method involves collecting the excess ink during printing and curing it inside the printer. This is done using a dedicated cartridge with drip points for ink distribution and UV LEDs for curing. The cartridge fills with ink and then, and the UV cures it when full. This prevents hazardous ink waste from accumulating in the printer. The curing also prevents stalactites/stalagmites formation. The cartridge is periodically replaced when full.

Recycling additively manufactured objects made from resins containing reactive blocked prepolymers. The objects are ground into particulate form and mixed with additional blocking agents to regenerate the original reactive blocked prepolymer. This regenerated resin can then be used for additive manufacturing. The reactive blocking agents polymerize during initial curing and are trapped inside the final part. Extracting the ground particulate allows recovering the blocked prepolymer and regenerating the resin.