We are living a true technological revolution in which 3D printers, which until two days ago seemed like a thing of science fiction , are becoming a daily reality that offers us a world of possibilities: printing food and decorative figures to measure, making prostheses for people with paralysis and even building houses on the moon.
On an environmental level, some experts are optimistic, since 3D printing could combat, for example, programmed obsolescence: it will no longer be necessary to throw away a device in perfect condition if a key part of its operation breaks: we can print it. In addition, 3D printers could also contribute to generating more local manufacturing circuits, thus reducing the environmental impact of global transport considerably.
But there are also downsides. The problem, let’s not forget, is that 3D printing is mainly powered by plastic. Leaving aside the impact of the production of this material, and the dependence it generates on fossil fuels , we have the problem of waste . At the University of Berkeley, California, they know it perfectly, since they have about 100 3D printers on their campus that are used by numerous research teams and that generate more than 200 kilos of plastic waste per year.
To try to close the cycle and that all that garbage that remains and is recycled within the campus, two students from the Environmental Resources Center of this university have created a system that recovers all that used plastic, shreds it, melts it, and produces a new reel that can be used again on campus 3D printers.
“My goal is to reduce the inefficiencies of 3D printing so that this technology can reach its full potential without being buried by mountains of debris,” explains Nicole Panditi, one of the young creators of this system. “The idea is that plastics never leave campus,” explains Lin King, advisor to the team of researchers. In addition, the generation of this closed circuit with zero waste also reduces the carbon footprint of the printing process, says the specialist.
Towards more efficient printing
This is not the only initiative to eliminate the problem of waste. A few years ago, Richard Zhang, a researcher at Simon Fraser University in Canada, developed an algorithm to decompose a 3D object into pyramidal pieces.
According to the scientist, who published his idea in the journal ACM Transaction on Graphics , this shape is optimal for 3D printing, which does not waste any material and also saves printing time. The pieces can be printed separately and then glued to the final shape, as Zhang demonstrated with the printing of a Christmas tree.
These are great initiatives that, while not eliminating the underlying problem of dependence on plastic, will at least prevent 3D printing from becoming yet another source of non-recyclable waste that pollutes the planet.
