ProtoCycler; a recycling system for your 3D printer

When we talk about 3D printing, we often think of the benefits that the technology generates towards the environment: less waste material compared to traditional manufacturing, the possibility of recycling some waste, local production resulting in less physical exchanges and therefore transport, etc. The benefits are many and that is why some companies have developed solutions to accelerate this awareness and promote this more sustainable solutions through recycling materials such as paper waste. This is the case of the young Canadian company, ReDeTec, which has developed a small machine capable of transforming plastic waste into 3D printing filaments. The machine is called ProtoCycler. It gives a second life to all these objects that otherwise would be thrown and creates value where you do not necessarily expect it. So we met Dennon Oosterman, its founder, to learn more about how it works and its vision for the market.

3DN: Can you introduce yourself and your link to 3D printing?

3DN: What is the ProtoCycler? How does it work ?

ProtoCycler is an all in one recycling system for 3D printers, which allows you to make your own filament from recycled waste and virgin plastic pellets. ProtoCycler comes complete with a grinder to shred your 3D printer waste, a class leading extruder to produce filament, a full computer control to ensure filament tolerance and automatic operation, and a built in spooler with distributed spooling. There’s also a manual mode where you can operate and monitor all of the various aspects of filament extrusion with our included software, which is something no one else offers. This allows you to experiment with new plastics and additives, and create your own custom filaments.