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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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.

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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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