Machine to Recycle Waste Plastic Into Filament for 3D Printing Wins Major Award

The James Dyson award is an international competition led by the eponymous entrepeuneur. It rewards engineering or design projects which ‘solve a problem’, and the Polyformer certainly does this. Reiten Cheng and Swaleh Owais have developed a machine which recycles plastic from water bottles into filament for FDM 3D printing, making it accessible for developing countries. The project was the recipient of the prestigious Sustainability division of the James Dyson Award.

The designers were inspired by a 3D printing website which features recycling and sustainability stories. They wanted those in developing countries to be able to benefit from 3D printing technologies while also repurposing waste materials. Owais completed this project in Rwanda at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, hoping to make a product which can solve the high shipping costs of filament into Africa.

Construction of the Polyformer machine. (Photo credit: Reiten Cheng)

Recognition and Awards

The Polyformer was awarded the James Dyson award for Sustainability, chosen by the inventor himself. The Award is given every year to innovative projects and the pair will use the prize money to produce more Polyformers for use in 3D printing labs in Rwanda. This can go some way to solve litter by recycling plastic. They plan to then collect user feedback and expand the project to other developing countries. Further side projects to complement the Polyformer are also in the works; for example, the Polyjoiner will automatically connect filament strands together and the Polydryer will evaporate water from PET to prevent negative print quality. Finally, the Polyspooler will automatically create spools of filament for ease of use.