The filaments from Nefilatek. Photo via Nefilatek.
15 Dec
Blog

Filament startup Nefilatek launches 100% recycled plastic filament

Nefilatek, a Montreal-based startup that specializes in making recycled filaments, has developed 3D printing filaments made from 100% recycled plastic.

The company operates a Kickstarter page where early adopters can choose between two types of filaments: Nefila HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene) Black and Nefila PC (Polycarbonate), which come with reusable spool bobbins and environmentally friendly packaging. With its new filaments, Nefilatek wants to offer a “safe alternative solution for manufacturers, designers and manufacturers” that reduces the amount of plastic that is used and wasted in 3D printing.

The filaments from Nefilatek. Photo via Nefilatek.

Reducing the environmental impact of 3D printing

Nefilatek was founded in 2018 by two engineering students who both admired the capabilities of 3D printing that allowed inventors, product designers, and manufacturers to get their products to market faster, but were disillusioned with the environmental impact of the technology. They founded the company to combat the huge consumption of plastic in the 3D printing industry, a material that is a major environmental pollutant.

Nefilatek claims that the annual plastic consumption from the 3D printing industry is an estimated 30 million pounds, with a projected 250 million pounds by 2020. Currently, according to the company, it is also estimated that the production of 3D printing plastics will result in consumption of 1.4 Million barrels of oil that will generate over 800 million pounds of carbon emissions annually by 2020.

The Nefila HIPS and Nefila PC filaments

Nefilatek’s recycled filaments aim to have “less impact on the planet” for 3D printing. The company’s first filament, Nefila HIPS Black, is made from high-impact polystyrene recycled from Montreal’s electronic waste. The filament’s benefits include impact and heat-resistant 3D prints, while Nefilatek claims it maintains the same properties as standard ABS. The HIPS filament can also be dissolved and smoothed with the sustainable oils D-limonene and turpentine.

The company is currently conducting final testing of its Nefila PC filament extrusion process prior to commercialization. The filament consists of 100% thermoplastic polycarbonate polymers and is geared towards technical applications due to its firm and flexible mechanical properties. It is also resistant to large temperature fluctuations (-50 ° C to + 130 ° C).

Nefilatek is also working on developing a white variant of its Nefila HIPS filament and is also ready to conduct research and development tests on various other materials, including nylon and polypropylene. Since beginning development of its filaments in 2018, Nefilatek launched a Kickstarter in January 2019 to fund further research and development of its filaments with the aim of bringing them to market. The company plans to ship its Kickstarter filament orders in June 2019.

Standard filaments compared to Nefilatek's recycled filament. Image via Nefilatek.Standard filaments compared to Nefilatek’s recycled filament. Image via Nefilatek.

Filaments made from recycled materials

Several other initiatives have also been launched to help reduce the environmental impact of 3D printing by using recycled materials to make 3D printing filaments. Examples of this are the British brand’s ONE PET filament for 3D printer filaments Filamentous. The company offers a 100% recycled plastic filaments Made from PET plastic bottle waste for end users. ONE PET was produced in collaboration with Tridea, a company that specializes in converting plastic waste into 3D filaments.

In addition, researchers from the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) have also used Recycled (PET) plastic found in water bottles, yogurt containers, and other recyclable waste materials 3D printing filaments. By using reclaimed materials, service members can quickly use 3D printing to create replacement parts for military vehicles, weapons and equipment.

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The picture shown shows filaments from Nefilatek. Photo via Nefilatek.

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Nefilatek Wants to Turn Montreal's Waste into 3D Printing Filament - 3DPrint.com
13 Dec
Blog

Nefilatek Needs to Flip Montreal’s Waste into 3D Printing Filament – 3DPrint.com

“This industry will bring a lot of improvements to people, but 3D printed objects are made from various plastics and these materials have a terrible impact on the environment. In fact, only a small fraction of plastic waste is well recycled and reused as it should be in ten to fifteen cycles. The rest is burned or sent to landfill. Additionally, a large amount of plastic never ends up in the trash and ends up in nature, which is a critical pollution problem.

“NefilaTek is a new company making environmentally friendly 3D printing filaments from recycled plastic. The idea is to reduce the environmental impact of the 3D printing industry by making high quality filaments from plastic waste from Montreal. The processing of used plastic into useful items is the greatest challenge of our time to reduce the pollution and overproduction of plastic. “

Much of the world’s industrial polymer materials are already being recycled. There are commercial recycling companies trading in regrind ABS, PC and many other materials around the world. These polymers are offered for sale worldwide. In recent years regrind has been more expensive than new pellets made from new resin due to the high demand in some regions. We often hear that the plastics industry is responsible for all plastic diseases, but the global recycling market and use of regrind materials is really impressive. Many polymers can be recycled six or seven times, and if everything is okay, it’s millions of tons. This results in materials with an extended life of many decades through many different uses. As long as there is traceability (to know what additives are in the base material), even high value applications can be investigated. With packaging and single-use items, which usually only last a few days, I think the plastics industry is clearly part of the problem. We need innovative natural, bio-based, compostable or recycled materials to solve the problem of volatile use of polymers for silly applications like a clear pod for a cucumber. In other applications, we can see that market-driven solutions provide an industry that has an incentive to reuse these materials and extend their lifespan.

No bobbin filament is also a huge benefit.

By working with this established regrind industry, Nefilatek would like to offer our market many filament qualities. The really cool thing is that absolutely every single filament manufacturer can do the same.

The company told us, “All of our filaments are 100% 100% filament recycled Raw materials, we don’t have any new plastic in our filament. “

With many polymers this would be difficult, so we are skeptical.

Research and development engineer Angel Chauffray said something that makes us happy: “You have achieved an industrial tolerance for the filament diameter of 1.75mm +/- 0.05. It works at least as well as other filaments with this tolerance. “

Another thing that worried us was that they were also working on new R&D materials like “Dark Blue Polypropylene (recycled from hospitals). “If they manage to create a very exciting material, it would be” carbon fiber reinforced nylon, “which they are working on with a company that recycles carbon fiber. The company has also developed PCs, but has not yet launched them.

The company currently offers ABS and HIPS. HIPS has very interesting properties, but you have to be careful when extruding it. ABS and HIPS should both be used in a sealed printer with carbon and HEPA filters in my opinion. The company is investing in recycling facilities to test and develop more materials in-house. I really like Nefilatek’s approach and would like more people to work constructively with the regrind industry to make high performance filaments from recycled materials.

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