Use a Filament Extruder to Make Your Own Filament
Along with a filament extruder, you’ll need heavy-duty scissors and a rubber mallet. The exact process depends on the extruder you use. Here’s a look at the general method.
What Is Filament?
3D printers use various plastic printing materials, also called filaments, with an array of technical names and acronyms, such as ABS and PLA. Filaments are plastics, also known as polymers. Filaments are a common 3D printing material because these materials melt when heated rather than burn, and can be shaped and molded. There are many types of 3D printer filaments to buy, ranging in price from $15 to $40. But serious do-it-yourselfers might be interested in making filament using discarded or failed 3D print projects.
Filament Extruders
Filament extruders are machines you can buy or make that turn shredded plastic into filament to use in 3D printers. Filament extruders recycle failed 3D printing projects and leftover scraps by crushing small shredded pieces of plastic and then extruding it into filament for use in another 3D printing project. Filament extruders come in many sizes with different features, but the basic functionality is the same. Push plastic pieces through a heated area. The plastic melts into liquid plastic, which is extruded through the machine’s nozzle as a strand of filament. If you’re interested in making 3D printing filament, filament extruders such as the Filibot, the Filastruder Kit, and the Felfil Evo will do the job.
