Three 3D printing projects targeting circularity and sustainability

The topic of sustainability in additive manufacturing is an expansive one, covering everything from the energy required to make materials to the ways AM design can lead to greater efficiency. In our recent eBook on sustainability, we looked at many of these perspectives, including how AM is impacting clean energy generation. In this article, however, we want to take a more narrow look at this topic and really zoom in on some recent applications for 3D printing that really prioritize eco-friendliness and creativity.

Mono-material wool comb

The first comes from Batch.Works, a UK-based company whose entire mission is based on circular manufacturing. The company, which in 2019 launched its first collection of homeware products, operates a service that 3D prints products from biomaterials and recycles them at the end of their life. Recently, the company teamed up with Sheep Inc., a carbon-negative knitwear brand that makes fully traceable wool garments. Together, they designed a pilling comb that would be sold alongside the retailer’s knitwear.

“Sheep Inc. wanted to offer a care accessory with their sustainable knitwear, but it was impossible to find an existing product to match their brand values. Any options they did find had high MOQs and lengthy lead-times,” Batch.Works said. Rather than opt for a sub-standard product with a higher ecological footprint, Sheep Inc. commissioned a 3D printed pilling comb from Batch.Works. The final product was 3D printed from colorFabb Vibers filament, a PLA material engineered to have smaller carbon footprint than regular PLA, and was finished with laser etching. Not only is the product made from a biomaterial, the fact that it is made from a single material streamlines the recycling process when the comb is no longer usable or needed. On top of that, Batch.Works specifies that it was able to match the price per unit of Sheep Inc.’s existing product. Batch.Works has also made recyclable, low-carbon plastic products for other brands, like Kibu, which sells children’s headphones, bFriends, the Design Museum and more.

Material made from date pits

The next sustainable application for 3D printing we want to highlight is from Oman, where design collective Nawa has developed a 3D printing material made from date pits. The material, called RePit, is a composite made from a combination of crushed date pits and other local materials like clay and palm fibers. According to Nawa, this sustainable material bears similarities to sarooj, a traditional Persian building material made from clay and limestone.

The date pits used to make RePit are from dates grown on the design collective’s land—Oman is in the top ten producers of dates in the world and thus has a ton of pits, which are treated as an agricultural byproduct. Nawa’s idea was therefore to put this organic waste material to productive use. “Substituting plastic with date seed composites can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support a circular economy, and divert waste from landfills, with life cycle assessments highlighting reduced carbon footprints and improved sustainability,” the design collective said.

To demonstrate how its sustainable RePit material could be used, Nawa designers 3D printed a series of decorative tiles. The tiles were designed in CAD software and each integrates a unique rippled texture. An extrusion 3D printer brought the designs to life, and the green RePit tiles were then fired and glazed, resulting in a colorful array of glossy tiles. While the material as demonstrated is a slurry texture, the Nawa team is reportedly developing a filament RePit material, which could be used with FFF 3D printers.

On-demand phone cases

Red Wolf Technologies is a Utah-based company that 3D prints custom smartphone cases and screen protectors on demand. The company has found this business model to be far more adaptable than mass producing phone cases as well as substantially better for the environment. As the company states: “With on-demand, you can create products with less waste, lower costs and faster turnaround times.” The company has its own manufacturing hardware solutions—the Primo Print3D and Primo Protect. The Primo Print3D is a desktop system capable of printing phone cases in under an hour, while the Primo Protect is a cutting machine that can made screen protectors that fit any type of smartphone dimension.

Ultimately, the company aims to keep up with changing smartphone designs—including sizes, camera placement, port locations and more—while also minimizing reliance on massive inventories and significantly reducing waste associated with mass produced units that are only in demand for a short period. Its solutions are currently in use at phone retailers and shops in over 60 countries.

Notably, Red Wolf Technologies is also a big proponent of recycling and reusing materials and has launched its own recycling program powered by Precious Plastic’s thermoplastic recycling hardware. This week, for instance, Red Wolf received a donation from a local maker of 80 kg of plastic waste, which will be recycled and turned into usable raw materials.

These three projects are really just the tip of the iceberg: there are many, many innovative and industrious makers, startups and 3D printing experts finding creative ways to make more sustainable and environment-friendly materials and products.