3D printing has the potential to change the way that consumers acquire and dispose of goods, hinting at a future in which people produce many of the items they use on a home 3D printer using materials recycled from old products. With this ethos at the heart of many Makers’ 3D printing projects, it’s no wonder that people like Afate Gnikou of Togo and Gelstronic of… Instructables have cobbled together their own 3D printers using recycled parts. Continuing the eco-friendly trend is Paulo Loma of Bolivia.
Loma has taken to building his own 3D printer design, following in the footsteps of Gnikou and Gelstronic, assembling the machine with recycled parts. The Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA) student took his machine one step further, however, using recycled soda bottles as the feedstock for his machine. Loma tells Pagina Siete that the machine is made from parts that one “can find at hardware stores or or electronics stores/que puedes encontrar -menciona- en ferreterías o tiendas de artefactos electrónicos.” The La Paz-based student bought his electronics from a scrap electronics booth at the 16 de Julio open air market in the city of El Alto.
The engineer began his project when he had created a part in SketchUp, but needed a means for bringing it into the real world. After acquiring the components for building his machine, he also needed the material with which to print it. Rather than use ABS or PLA imported from other countries, Loma decided to continue recycling, cutting strips of PET bottles to create his printer’s feedstock.
The student’s project is an admirable one and I hope that it inspires the next generation of RepRap 3D printers to build with materials in the surrounding environment, rather than relying on mass produced goods that may further contribute to the waste in the world.
