Rourkela: Researchers on the Nationwide Institute of Expertise Rourkela (NIT Rourkela) have secured a patent for a low-cost, transportable extruder system able to producing composite filaments for 3D printing utilizing recycled plastics.
The innovation may assist cut back dependence on virgin plastic and promote the conversion of plastic waste into value-added merchandise. Developed at a value of round Rs 45,000, the system includes an extruder, a managed cooling system and PID temperature controllers, amongst different parts, enabling exact management over the filament manufacturing course of.
Three-dimensional printing is more and more being utilized in biomedical and engineering functions, together with the manufacturing of scaffolds, anatomical fashions, ornamental objects, brackets, drone parts and toys. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), probably the most broadly used 3D-printing applied sciences, works by melting thermoplastic filament and depositing it layer by layer to create an object.
Nevertheless, commercially accessible thermoplastic filaments may be costly, whereas low-quality filaments can compromise print high quality and dimensional accuracy. Though researchers worldwide are exploring recycled plastics as a less expensive and extra sustainable various, their wider use has been constrained by processing prices, materials wastage, insufficient mechanical energy and restricted sturdiness.
The NIT Rourkela workforce has sought to deal with these challenges by way of its filament extrusion system, which might mix plastic particles with reinforcement supplies to provide filaments with improved energy and sturdiness.
“The developed filament extrusion system represents an development in filament manufacturing expertise, providing compelling technical and industrial advantages for the 3D-printing business. The composite filament produced by way of the developed extruder can be utilized for 3D printing of components with improved mechanical properties desired for a variety of functions. Additional, the usage of recycled plastic in making filament will provide substantial environmental advantages,” stated Prof. Sandhyarani Biswas, Affiliate Professor, Division of Mechanical Engineering, NIT Rourkela.
In line with the researchers, laboratory-scale assessments confirmed that the filaments produced utilizing the system had passable mechanical properties and the specified dimensional accuracy.
Prof. Sujit Sen, Professor, Division of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, stated the system may convert numerous varieties of plastic waste into helpful 3D-printer filament, making a sustainable closed-loop system for recycling, reuse and remanufacturing.
The analysis workforce includes Prof. Sandhyarani Biswas, Prof. Sujit Sen, Jagdish Uday Khatu, Himanshu Singh and Kiran Suna. The patent utility for the extrusion system was filed beneath Software No. 202431068691 on July 30, 2026.
The composite filaments developed by way of the system may discover functions the place higher energy and sturdiness are required, whereas additionally supporting extra sustainable 3D-printing practices.
