The Paper Pulp Printer replaces plastic with paper waste

The market for Additive manufacturing is constantly growing in everything from the automotive industry to ceramics. However the biggest part is still in more traditional areas like prototyping using plastics. While 3D printing do bring advantages such as being faster and less wasteful than traditional manufacturing, also making it easier to produce on demand. The problem is that the majority of print material used is still plastic, which is one of the most harmful materials for the environment.

This became apparent for designer Beer Holthuis as well, who wondered why there isn’t more sustainable materials for 3D printing. This has led him to develop a method to print with sopping wet paper. The Paper Pulp Printer, is the world’s first 3D printer using paper pulp to replace plastic. Generally the market of materials is growing and there are other alternative materials you can choose from for your prints. However most other are still hybrid materials using PLA as a base.

Beer Holthuis 3D prints with paper waste

Beer Holthuis, from the netherlands, is as a product designer. In this regard, he has crossed path with 3D modeling and additive manufacturing. Through this process, he noticed the worrying amount of plastic being used in the process and started searching for a more sustainable material to replace it.