Abstract
The circular economy requires high-value material recovery to enable multiple product lifecycles. This implies the need for additive manufacturing to focus on the development and use of low-impact materials that, after product use, can be reconstituted to their original properties in terms of printability and functionality. We therefore investigated reprintable materials, made from bio-based resources. In order to equally consider material properties and recovery during development, we took a design approach to material development. In this way, the full material and product life cycle was studied, including multiple recovery steps. We applied this method to the development of a reprintable bio-based composite material for extrusion paste printing. This material is derived from natural and abundant resources, i.e., ground mussel shells and alginate. The alginate in the printing paste is ionically cross-linked after printing to create a water-resistant material. This reaction can be reversed to retain a printable paste. We studied paste composition, printability and material properties and 3D printed a design prototype. Alginate as a binder shows good printing and reprinting behaviour, as well as promising material properties. It thus demonstrates the concept of reprintable materials.
Highlights
The circular economy is currently gaining momentum as it is viewed as a promising approach towards sustainable development
We described the initial development of a composite material for paste printing with filler particles made from ground mussel shells and sugar water as binder material. the reprintability of this material was achieved through dissolving; after the print was air dried to obtain the final object, the object could be turned into a printable paste again through immersion in water. a lampshade was 3D printed to demonstrate the use of this material in a design object (Figure 1)
A limited number of additive manufacturing (AM) materials are currently available that meet the requirements of a circular economy, i.e., maintaining high-level material integrity after use and enabling multiple use cycles
Summary
The circular economy is currently gaining momentum as it is viewed as a promising approach towards sustainable development. Products and materials are kept at their highest value for as long as possible by looping them back into the economy through reuse and recycling [1,2,3]. To achieve high-value and high-quality recovery, a shift of focus is required when it comes to product and material development. Instead of allowing products and materials to degrade and be wasted, they should be recoverable, reusable, and recyclable to enable the lifecycle [4,5]. New design solutions with additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing provide opportunities for product life extension, reuse, and recovery in the circular economy. One of the issues with AM, is the limited availability of materials that can be recovered and reused at the end of a product’s lifecycle, and complying with the aim of the circular economy. After a 3D printed product becomes obsolete, the material should be reprocessed into ready-to-print material which matches the original specifications with respect to print properties as well as functional properties
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