Resin Recovery in 3D Printing

Separating a recycled thermoplastic resin from a composite resin containing multiple thermoplastic resins. The method involves filtering the composite resin to separate out the recycled resin. To facilitate this separation, a compound is added to the composite resin that increases the contact angle between the recycled resin and the composite resin. This compound coarsens the particles of the composite resin during mixing, making separation easier. The compound can have functional groups like epoxy, carbodiimide, oxazoline, or anhydride that react with the polyester resin.

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Recyclable light-curable 3D printing resin that allows closed-loop recycling of waste 3D printing materials. The resin contains dynamic steric hindered pulse bonds that allow solid-liquid conversion for recycling. The resin is prepared by reacting polyol, diisocyanate, organic solvent, and dibutyltin laurate. After curing, it can be degraded into soluble oligomers by heating. These oligomers can then be mixed with fresh resin components and cured again. This allows reusing the degraded resin without significant property loss. The dynamic bonds reform during curing to maintain the network structure.

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Method to improve the quality of recycled ABS resin by chemically decomposing and removing contaminants like heterogeneous resins and foreign substances during extrusion. The recycled resin composition contains at least 50 wt% of recycled graft copolymer. During extrusion, an alcohol amine compound is added and the barrel temperature and screw speed are controlled within specific ranges. This allows the reactive agent to efficiently decompose and remove contaminants from the recycled resin without discoloration or property degradation.

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Recycling device for 3D printing waste that sorts and processes the waste by size to efficiently recover and reuse the materials. The device has a multi-stage recycling process starting with a screening component to separate large and small waste pieces. The larger waste goes to a processing component to further process and recycle it, while the smaller waste falls into a storage component for reuse. This allows different sized waste to be classified and processed separately to prevent smaller pieces being covered by larger ones.

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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.

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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.

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An improved method and system for additive manufacturing (AM) that enables in-situ material regeneration and efficient part building. The method involves depositing powder on a continuous substrate, removing portions of the powder at stations for wetting, binding, and ink application, then cutting the substrate into segments with powder layers. These segments are mounted on frames and processed further before stacking. This allows selective powder removal at each stage, facilitates powder layer handling, and recovers used powder and liquids for reuse.

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A multi-stage wash system for removing uncured resin from 3D printed objects created using vat polymerization (VP) processes and removing residual wash solvent. The system has stages like preliminary and fine washing, with adaptive wash durations based on factors like resin type and concentration. An agitator creates turbulence to clean better. The system monitors resin concentration and replaces solvent when needed. It also has features like auto refilling, observation windows, and slanted draining to prevent splashing.

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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.

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Reducing volatile compounds in recycled resin by drying crushed recyclable materials containing volatile components and resin while circulating gas. The crushing and drying steps remove volatile compounds like fragrances from recycled materials like packaging containers. This reduces odors and contaminants in the recycled resin. The drying step involves heating and drying the crushed materials while circulating gas.

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Method for manufacturing 3D printing filament using recycled resin particles from waste material. The method involves grinding recycled resin waste to obtain particles, then mixing the recycled particles with a thermoplastic resin and melting and kneading the mixture to create the 3D printing filament. This allows recycling/reusing of specific types of resin waste without excessive pretreatment, balancing eco-friendliness, economy, and processability. The recycled particle size, content, and melt viscosity are controlled to avoid defects like protrusions or exposure.

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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.

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Fully degradable and recyclable 3D printed parts made from a composition system that allows degradation and recycling of the printed parts. The system uses a mixture of siloxane hydrolysate and alkali solution as the main printing material. This is mixed with a low surface energy polymer solution containing a low surface energy polymer and solvent. The resulting mixture is used to 3D print parts. The printed parts can be recovered by soaking in water or solvent to dissolve the printed material. The dissolved material can then be reused to 3D print new parts. This allows recycling of the printed parts without losing quality. The siloxane hydrolysate and alkali solution provide degradability in the environment.

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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.

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Recycling method for continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic 3D printing composites that allows efficient recovery of the composite material while preserving fiber properties. The recycling process involves stripping the fibers from the composite using a specialized device. The device has a heating head that melts the resin matrix between the bottom layer of fibers and the layer below it. This separates the bottom layer of fibers from the composite. The process is repeated to strip the fibers from subsequent layers. The stripped fibers are then wound onto recovery spokes. The resin matrix is reclaimed. This allows recycling of the fibers while preserving their performance for reprinting.

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Method for producing recycled resin from waste resin composition containing synthetic resin and organic impurities. The method involves separating the recycled resin from the waste resin using processes like brine washing, activated carbon adsorption, or hydrocyclone separation. These steps remove the organic impurities to produce a recycled resin with lower haze and yellowing compared to directly recycling the waste resin.

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A method for separating a recyclable resin from a composite material containing multiple resins with different melting points. The method involves filtering the composite at a temperature between the melting points of the two resins, using a filter with a size that prevents the higher melting resin from passing. Before filtering, the size of the dispersed higher melting resin particles is increased. This allows the filter to separate the lower melting resin while retaining the larger higher melting resin particles. The separated lower melting resin is then recycled.

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Recycling unqualified green embryos from 3D printing to reduce waste. The method involves crushing the unqualified green embryos, dissolving the crushed material in solvent, ultrasonically dispersing to improve dissolution, screening the solution, and drying the powder for reuse. This allows recovery of 3D printing material from defective prints.

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A method for recycling waste resin into new usable resin. The method involves supplying, melting, cooling, and cutting the waste resin into pellets. The melting step is done in a furnace, and the cooling step has a primary immersion step followed by a secondary freeze-cooling step. This sequential cooling prevents warping and peeling. The intermediate material is also processed into rhythms using a machine with molding holes. The pellets are supported on seating slits between the rhythms. This allows manufacture of recycled resin pellets from waste resin with consistent size and quality.

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Using recycled polymers in 3D printing to reduce material costs and waste while enabling recycling of previously discarded materials. The recycling process involves repurposing waste materials like injection molding scraps, PET bottles, and reject parts from other processes. The recycling methods include grinding, sieving, emulsion processes, and pulverization. The recycled polymers are then used in the 3D printing process, like Composite-Based Additive Manufacturing (CBAM), without significant degradation in properties compared to virgin material. The CBAM process allows the use of longer-chain polymers and less uniform chain length distribution polymers, unlike conventional processes that require consistent molecular weight and viscosity.

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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.

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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.

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Recycled resin composition for 3D printing filaments that can be used in fused deposition modeling (FDM) printers. The composition contains a recycled resin made from plastic packaging material with specific properties to improve its suitability for 3D printing. The recycled resin has a maximum 15% by number of particles over 200 microns in size. It is blended with a second resin that has a high melt flow rate of 5 g/10 min at 230°C. This reduces the viscosity of the recycled resin during melting, making it more suitable for extrusion in 3D printers.

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3D printing waste recycling device to process and reuse thermoplastic waste generated from 3D printing. The device consists of grinding, heating, and pelletizing modules. The grinding module shreds the waste. The heating module melts and extrudes the shredded waste into filament. The pelletizing module cuts the extruded filament into pellets. This allows recycling and reusing the waste from 3D printing back into usable filament or pellets for 3D printers.

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Liquid recycling system for 3D printing equipment that recycles and reuses the liquid materials used in 3D printing to avoid waste and pollution. The system has a liquid material supply device with storage for the resin and cleaning agent. It also has a recovery device with a barrel, tanks, and filters to process the used liquid and send it back to the supply. This allows the recycled material to be reused instead of discharging after each use. Temperature control devices can be added to maintain optimal printing conditions.

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A 3D printing waste recycling device to recycle and reuse thermoplastic waste generated during 3D printing. The device has modules for grinding, melting, extruding, and pelletizing the waste material. It shreds the waste in the grinding module, melts and extrudes it in the heating module, and pelletizes it in the recycling module. The extruded filaments can be cut into different sizes for use in various 3D printers.

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3D printing waste sorting and recycling device to separate and recover metal powder, plastic powder, and liquid resin from 3D printing waste. The device has separate mechanisms to separate powder from powder-containing resin blocks, resin from powder-containing blocks, and clean and classify the separated powders. This allows recycling of the powders without mixing them with resin. The device prevents resin solidification during separation by avoiding long air exposure.

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3D printer that recycles and reuses 3D printing waste material for subsequent prints. The printer has a dedicated recycling unit that crushes and melts recycled plastic into filament. This recycled filament is then cooled and fed to the main printing unit for extrusion and deposition. The recycling unit consists of a frame, crushing assembly, melting extrusion assembly, and cooling traction assembly. The crushing assembly crushes and conveys recycled plastic into the melting extrusion assembly which melts and extrudes it into filament. The cooling traction assembly cools and conveys the filament to the main printing unit. This allows recycling and reusing 3D printing waste material instead of disposing of it.

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Recyclable 3D printing resin that allows recycling of additively manufactured objects by grinding them into powder, regenerating the resin from the powder, and reusing it for 3D printing. The recyclable resin contains a reactive blocked prepolymer, polymerized reactive blocking agents, and optionally a reactive diluent. The reactive blocked prepolymer crosslinks during printing to form the 3D object. After grinding, the reactive powder can be mixed with additional reactive components to regenerate the resin. This allows recycling of the resin from printed objects without significant degradation.

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Smart handling of materials for 3D printers that allows disintegration, storage, recycling, and reuse of existing objects instead of continually purchasing new 3D printing filament. The technique involves a 3D printer that can disintegrate complex objects made of multiple materials using techniques like heating or ascorbate vapor. The disintegrated materials are stored and then reused to 3D print new objects, eliminating waste and reducing the need for buying new filament. The printer can also apply color to colorless filament as it melts during printing to create custom colored objects. This allows recycling and reuse of existing objects, reducing waste, and eliminating the need to continually purchase new filament.

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Recycling device for 3D printers that allows recycling and reusing of the plastic material used in 3D printing. The device has multiple crushing zones with rotating rods and elastic elements to shatter and compress the plastic. The crushed plastic falls into a melting zone with a heating plate to melt and fuse it. This allows the 3D printer to reuse the recycled material instead of continuously using new plastic.

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Recycling and reusing leftover powdered build material in 3D printers to reduce waste and lower costs. The system captures unused powder during printing and after finished objects are removed. It then recycles and reconditions the powder for reuse in subsequent prints. This recycles incidental and non-solidified powder rather than discarding it.

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Method for preparing recycled 3D printing materials using waste plastics and 3D printing waste to reduce costs and address environmental concerns. The process involves crushing the waste plastics and cleaning them to remove impurities. The cleaned plastics are then dried, mixed with additives, melted, and extruded to make reusable 3D printing filament. The recycling process involves steps like crushing, cleaning, drying, mixing, melting, and extrusion.

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Method for recycling waste epoxy resin prepregs by shredding the waste, mixing the shredded material to form a fluid charge, and compression molding to recover usable composite material. The shredded prepreg waste is blended with uncured resin, fibers, catalysts, etc. to create a moldable charge. This allows recycling of scrap prepreg waste containing unreacted resin, rather than just fiber recovery.

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Recycling method for 3D printer waste material to prevent pollution and reuse the material. The method involves a multi-step process using specialized equipment. The steps include: 1. Retracting the print head to collect the waste material, 2. Cooling the waste material to make it brittle, 3. Breaking the waste into smaller pieces using a device with adjustable plates, 4. Conveying the broken pieces using a transfer apparatus, and 5. Injecting molding the broken pieces into new objects. This closed loop recycling process allows reusing the 3D printer waste instead of discarding it.

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A closed-loop system for recycling 3D printer filament waste to reduce waste and resource consumption in 3D printing. The system has four components: an extrusion system, a heating system, a cooling system, and a molding system. The extrusion system pushes melted filament from the heating system to the molding system. The cooling system cools the molding system to solidify the filament. This allows recycling the used filament into new printable material instead of discarding it.

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3D printer waste recovery system to capture and reuse printed material instead of discarding it. The system has components like a waste storage bin, a recovery device, a cooling device, a broken discard transfer apparatus, and an injection molding device. The recovery process involves storing the 3D printed waste, cooling it, breaking it down, transferring the pieces, and re-molding the fragments into new 3D printer material. This allows recycling and reuse of the waste instead of discarding it.

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A system for recycling waste material from 3D printers to reduce environmental impact and prevent pollution. The system involves a cooling device to cool the waste material after printing, followed by a transfer apparatus to break apart the cooled material into smaller pieces. The broken pieces are then fed into an injection molding machine to reform the recycled material into new parts. The cooling, breaking, and molding steps help make the recycled material more usable and prevent pollution from discarding the waste.

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3D printer waste recovery system that reduces environmental pollution and improves efficiency by recycling and reusing 3D printer material waste. The system has components like waste reservoir, waste material recovery device, cooling device, broken discard transfer apparatus, and injection molding apparatus. It allows recovering and recycling of the printed material waste instead of discarding it. The cooling device cools the waste before recovery. The broken discard transfer apparatus breaks and separates the waste into smaller pieces. The injection molding apparatus reforms the recycled waste into usable material. The system uses motors, sensors, brushes, and other components to automate the waste recovery and recycling process.

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A method and device for recycling waste materials from 3D printers. The method involves soaking the waste in cleaning agent, draining and drying it, then melting and filtering the recycled material. The device has a heating tank, furnace, holding furnace, and reversing valve connected to the 3D printer. The tank has a drain, inlet, and water level sensor. The device filters the melted recycled material before using it in the 3D printer.

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Recycling method for uncured prepreg waste to produce fiber-containing compounds like BMC (bulk molding compounds) for 3D printing or compression molding. The method involves heating the prepreg waste to a temperature below the curing point of the resin. This allows the resin to flow and separate from the fibers. The fibers can then be collected and used in the BMC production process, while the separated resin can be recycled separately. This avoids wasting expensive prepreg material and allows for closed-loop recycling of prepreg waste.

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Recovering water-soluble polyester resin from the waste liquid generated when removing support materials from 3D printed objects made using a fused deposition modeling (FDM) method. The recovery involves adding metal salts like calcium, magnesium, aluminum, iron, sodium, or potassium to the waste liquid, heating it above 30°C, and precipitating the polyester resin. This allows separating and recovering the polyester resin from the waste liquid. The metal salt addition step promotes solubility of the polyester resin in water. The recovered polyester resin can be reused instead of discarding it as waste.

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A pretreatment method to obtain high quality recycled thermoplastic resin molded products from crushed waste of thermoplastic resin molded products. The method involves sequentially separating and removing lumps, thermoplastic powder, and dense particles from the crushed waste. This prevents issues like clogging during kneading and pelletizing. The steps are: (1) separate and remove lumps, (2) separate and remove powdered thermoplastic resin, and (3) separate and remove dense particles with specific gravity greater than thermoplastic resin.

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A method for producing high quality recycled thermoplastic resin molded products from crushed waste of thermoplastic resin molded products. The method involves a specific pretreatment sequence to overcome issues with degraded quality of crushed waste. The pretreatment steps are: 1. Separating and removing lumps from the crushed material using gravity separation. 2. Separating and removing powdered thermoplastic resin using a dense media separator. 3. Further separating and removing non-thermoplastic components using a magnetic separator. This pretreatment sequence allows efficient removal of contaminants like metal before melting and molding the recycled thermoplastic resin.

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A 3D printing system that recycles excess printing material to reduce waste and lower costs. The system collects excess material during printing and filters out consolidated polymerization particles. It then recycles the remaining uncured material back into the printing process. This allows reusing the extruder feedstock instead of disposing of it. The recycled material can be returned to the printhead or mixed with fresh material to reduce waste and lower costs compared to fully disposing of the excess.

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Recycling device for 3D printers that continuously and quickly recovers waste materials to address the issue of waste and environmental pollution caused by directly disposing of 3D printer waste. The recycling device has a feeding barrel with a heating element, pushing mechanism, feeding port, and discharging port. The heating element melts the waste inside the barrel. The pushing mechanism pushes the melted waste out through the discharging port to an extrusion nozzle for reuse. A temperature controller accurately controls the heating temperature and coordinated feeding/pushing speeds.

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Regenerating the spherical aggregates in 3D printing waste to reuse them in new prints without quality degradation. The method involves thermally decomposing and removing the surrounding synthetic resin from the waste material containing the spherical aggregates. This regenerates the spherical aggregates for reuse in 3D printing without the degradation that occurs when using 100% waste material. The regeneration is done by heating the waste above 400°C to decompose the resin while leaving the carbon spheres intact.

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