Aug 19, 2015 | By Simon
As if additive manufacturing processes weren’t already revolutionary, the ability to recycle discarded material waste only adds to the list of reasons as to why the 3D printing process truly is game-changing - whether the end product is a speaker prototype for an industrial design or a replica of a human heart for surgical purposes.
Although we’ve previously seen examples of 3D printers that are capable of recycling 3D prints or filaments that are made from discarded plastic for FDM or FFF 3D printers, we’ve been yet to see a process that takes advantage of discarded nylon powder material that is used in the selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing process.
More recently, designers and recent Royal College of Art graduates Fabio Hendry and Seongil Choi found a way to recycle the discarded powder to create unique ‘3D printed’ furniture pieces and other small structures.
Titled Hot Wire Extensions, the designers - who together under the name Studio Ilio - developed an 3D printing process that begins with custom wire structures that are bent and formed from nichrome wire - an alloy of nickel, chromium and iron. Once completed, the bent wire forms are placed inside of a container containing the discarded nylon powder and pure silica sand. Finally, a battery is connected to the ends of the wire and an electrical current of between 10 and 120 volts is sent through the wire form - which ultimately heats up the structure to temperatures of up to 500 degrees.
Due to the high temperature of the wire form, the material surrounding it fuses together and bonds to create a solid material - which ultimately becomes the structure of the intended object. Because of the unique additive nature of the fabrication process, the resulting structures feature smooth lines with striking visual appeal that resemble bone structures - all based off of the original and simple bent wire forms.
“Hot Wire Extensions explores a new and exciting way of making that transforms line structures into solid bodies. We believe [this project] possesses the potential for large-scale production,” said the designers.
The designers - who used the discarded SLS nylon material from London’s Digets2Widgets 3D printing service - are clearly onto something here. While it’s certainly one thing to design a great-looking usable object, it’s even more impressive feat to design an entirely new manufacturing process along the way - especially at the university level.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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