Mechanical Performance of rPET Filament Obtained by Thermal Drawing for FFF Additive Manufacturing
The growing production of plastic waste and its recycling, from a circular economy perspective, faces challenges in finding solutions that are easy to implement, cheap in labor and energy during recycling, and locally implementable to avoid transportation. This work developed and validated a methodo...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-4494/9/1/26 |
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| author | Pedro Pires Martim Lima de Aguiar André Costa Vieira |
| author_facet | Pedro Pires Martim Lima de Aguiar André Costa Vieira |
| author_sort | Pedro Pires |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The growing production of plastic waste and its recycling, from a circular economy perspective, faces challenges in finding solutions that are easy to implement, cheap in labor and energy during recycling, and locally implementable to avoid transportation. This work developed and validated a methodology to address these challenges. Designed for small-scale use at home or in schools following a Do It Yourself (DIY) approach, it transforms water bottles into plastic strips, which, after passing through an extruder nozzle, become filaments with a diameter of 1.75 mm. These can replace commercially available thermoplastic filaments. Specimens produced by additive manufacturing with recycled PET (rPET) and commercial PETG showed similar mechanical properties and can serve as alternatives to commercial PETG. PETG shows higher strength (30 MPa) compared to rPET (24 MPa), a slightly higher Young’s modulus of 1.44 GPa versus 1.43 GPa, and greater strain at failure with 0.03 mm/mm against 0.02 mm/mm, making it stiffer and more ductile. This simple and widely applicable local solution may absorb a considerable amount of bottle waste, offering an economical, sustainable alternative to commercial filaments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a4cc9a9a35324a3da45064798740e7d5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2504-4494 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing |
| spelling | doaj-art-a4cc9a9a35324a3da45064798740e7d52025-01-24T13:36:29ZengMDPI AGJournal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing2504-44942025-01-01912610.3390/jmmp9010026Mechanical Performance of rPET Filament Obtained by Thermal Drawing for FFF Additive ManufacturingPedro Pires0Martim Lima de Aguiar1André Costa Vieira2Center for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technologies (C-MAST-UBI), University of Beira Interior, Marquês D’Ávila e Bolama St., 6201-001 Covilhã, PortugalCenter for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technologies (C-MAST-UBI), University of Beira Interior, Marquês D’Ávila e Bolama St., 6201-001 Covilhã, PortugalCenter for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technologies (C-MAST-UBI), University of Beira Interior, Marquês D’Ávila e Bolama St., 6201-001 Covilhã, PortugalThe growing production of plastic waste and its recycling, from a circular economy perspective, faces challenges in finding solutions that are easy to implement, cheap in labor and energy during recycling, and locally implementable to avoid transportation. This work developed and validated a methodology to address these challenges. Designed for small-scale use at home or in schools following a Do It Yourself (DIY) approach, it transforms water bottles into plastic strips, which, after passing through an extruder nozzle, become filaments with a diameter of 1.75 mm. These can replace commercially available thermoplastic filaments. Specimens produced by additive manufacturing with recycled PET (rPET) and commercial PETG showed similar mechanical properties and can serve as alternatives to commercial PETG. PETG shows higher strength (30 MPa) compared to rPET (24 MPa), a slightly higher Young’s modulus of 1.44 GPa versus 1.43 GPa, and greater strain at failure with 0.03 mm/mm against 0.02 mm/mm, making it stiffer and more ductile. This simple and widely applicable local solution may absorb a considerable amount of bottle waste, offering an economical, sustainable alternative to commercial filaments.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-4494/9/1/26PET recyclingenvironmental sustainabilitycircular economyadditive manufacturingfilament for 3D printersRPET |
| spellingShingle | Pedro Pires Martim Lima de Aguiar André Costa Vieira Mechanical Performance of rPET Filament Obtained by Thermal Drawing for FFF Additive Manufacturing Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing PET recycling environmental sustainability circular economy additive manufacturing filament for 3D printers RPET |
| title | Mechanical Performance of rPET Filament Obtained by Thermal Drawing for FFF Additive Manufacturing |
| title_full | Mechanical Performance of rPET Filament Obtained by Thermal Drawing for FFF Additive Manufacturing |
| title_fullStr | Mechanical Performance of rPET Filament Obtained by Thermal Drawing for FFF Additive Manufacturing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mechanical Performance of rPET Filament Obtained by Thermal Drawing for FFF Additive Manufacturing |
| title_short | Mechanical Performance of rPET Filament Obtained by Thermal Drawing for FFF Additive Manufacturing |
| title_sort | mechanical performance of rpet filament obtained by thermal drawing for fff additive manufacturing |
| topic | PET recycling environmental sustainability circular economy additive manufacturing filament for 3D printers RPET |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-4494/9/1/26 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pedropires mechanicalperformanceofrpetfilamentobtainedbythermaldrawingforfffadditivemanufacturing AT martimlimadeaguiar mechanicalperformanceofrpetfilamentobtainedbythermaldrawingforfffadditivemanufacturing AT andrecostavieira mechanicalperformanceofrpetfilamentobtainedbythermaldrawingforfffadditivemanufacturing |