Development of portable 3d printer using polyethylene terephthalate bottles as plastic filament Erwin R. Sto. Domingo... [et.al].

Thesis (Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering) -- University of Rizal System-Morong.

EXECUTUVE SUMMARY: The study entitled "Development of Portable 3d Printer Using Polyethylene Terephthalate Bottles as Plastic Filament" is a research project that aims to neutralize common waste materials (specifically plastic bottles) to turn into new pieces depending on the users necessities. The Development of Portable 3d Printer Using Polyethylene Terephthalate Bottles as Plastic Filament was developed by Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering students during school year 2016 - 2017 at University of Rizal System - Morong. It is compose of two wor4king machines namely, the Extrusion Machine and Portable 3D Printer. All working parts that were used in the study are locally available in the marker, some were refurnished from past studies and some were solicited. The research works by producing first the plastic filament by melting PET bottles, then the filament produced will be fed on the Portable 3D Printer as normal plastic filament available in the market. The Extrusion Machine compose of a hopper that serves as the feeder, screw that pushes the plastic to the heating bands, then the heating bands will melt the plastic and by the continuous rotation of the screw the melted plastic will extrude to the nozzle as filament. The PET bottles were shredded into small pieces so that the hopper and screw can handle the plastic well. The Portable 3d Printer is comprise of a feeder for filament, XYZ axes, a heating element and a nozzle just like in the Extrusion Machine, The printer is operated by a SD card containing a specific file (.stl formart file) in which various computer software can produce, sending it to another so called "slicer" software in which you can calibrate the printing volume and tweak the 3D print (i.e. print density, percentage of the print, and scale the size of the project). In the portable 3D Printer there is a control panel where in you can control the printing speed, the temperature of the nozzle, and calibrate the axes on their respective origin. The fact that the system is new innovation, the Development of Portable 3D Printer using Polyethylene Terephthalate Bottles as Plastic Filament is also a good source of income that is capable of creating desired situations or purposes. Developmental, Descriptive and Experimental methods of research was used by the researchers in this study to complete the output. Developmental research method was used since the goal of this project is to develop, design, and build a Portable 3D Printer with Extrusion Machine that creates a useful 3D objects and converts raw materials into 3D printing filament. The focus is specifically on creating 3D object and produced a 3D printing filament made from PET bottles from recycled plastic waste. The produced filament, needs to have material properties that either meet or exceed commercially available filament. Respondents of the study were 5 experts and 10 students for the descriptive method to evaluate the level of acceptability of the Extrusion Machine in terms of functionality, safety and maintenance, and workability and for Portable 3D Printer in terms of accuracy, functionality, portability, usefulness, user - friendliness, safety and maintenance, and workability. The result showed that the both machines was extremely accepted by the respondents. In terms on experimentation and computations made by researchers on the project, it was presented that the project is effective, it can turn the PET bottles into a plastic filament and the produced filament can be used in the 3D printer. It was also found out that Extrusion Machine depend on the temperature increases the heat transmitted and the estimated heat loss also increases. While the portable 3D printer's energy released depend on the weight carried by the servo - motors, the more weight carried by the servo - motor the more kinetic energy it will released. Based on the evaluation of the study, the researchers recommended that improvement of the output may be done by future researchers.