This document discusses the role of 3D printing in transforming the plastic industry. It outlines how 3D printing can provide solutions to issues with increased plastic production and disposal by enabling recycling of plastic feedstock and reducing material usage. Specifically, it proposes that 3D printing can shape attitudes toward recycling and enable more distributed and decentralized recycling through open-source projects and reduced supply chains. Limitations around regulation and safety are also discussed.

1. 3D Printing’s role in
transforming Plastic Industry
• Role of 3D Printing (3DP), its
contribution and impact on plastic
industry.
• Provide solution for increased plastic
production and disposal, seek methods
that 3DP can provide.
• Recycling of feedstock and reduction of
material usage as main solution.

2. Outline
 Definition of 3DP
 3DP Technology
 Application of 3DP
 Current situations of plastic industry
 Solutions
 Limitation and Future Improvements
 References

3. Definition
What is 3DP?
 Manufacturing 3-dimensional product
from physical material, by computer
and automatization-based device
 Synonymous with “additive
manufacturing” (AM)
 On-demand material, size and shape
of product

4. Technology
How 3DP works?
 Print materials out
layer by layer
 3 types of most
commonly used
technology:
Fused deposition
modeling (FDM),
Selective laser
sintering (SLS),
Stereolithography
(SLA)

5.  FDM: plastic filament fed through heated
head
Advantage: Fast speed, freedom of shaping
Disadvantage: Not aesthetically desirable
 SLS: powders of materials fused into a
mass by high power laser
Advantage: Freedom in selecting materials
Disadvantage: Costly
 SLA: Photopolymerization (light causing
chains of molecules to form into polymers)
Advantage: Fast speed
Disadvantage: Costly

6. Application
What can we do or make using 3DP?
 Commercial
 Aesthetic design
 Construction
 Medical care
 Archeology and cultural preservation
 Food industry
Almost anything we can imagine!

7. Current situations of plastic
industry
 Plastic mass production started in
1950s
 Amount grown 20x in 65 years, reaching
381t in 2015
 Estimated to reach 850t in 2050
 Plastic still a better alternative despite
its contribution of pollution
 Many products result in single use, but
trend of recycle growing

8.  Commonly recycled plastic types:
1) Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
2) High-density polyethylene (HDPE)
3) Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
4) Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
5) Polypropylene (PP)
6) Polystyrene (PS)
7) “Other”, primarily polycarbonate (PC) and
acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)

9. Solutions
How can 3DP solve current problems in
plastic industry?
 Shaping attitude of recycle by enhancing
institutional trust and quality (top-down
approach) and civilian’s push of movement
(bottom-up)
 Environmental assessments should be
done from the perspective of main cause
and source of emission, which is usually
material and product needs, rather than
technology and energy efficiency

10.  Open-source projects such as
“RepRap” which developed a low-cost,
self-replicating printer, and “RecycleBot”,
the technology that recycles post-
consumer plastic into feedstock again
 Distributed or decentralized recycle of
polymers eliminates extra costs on
transportation and process emission
 Reduced assembly lines and supply
chain
 Digitalization and virtualization of
designs

11. Limitation and Future
Improvements
 Harmful, threatening items can be
produced in easy ways due to 3DP’s
inclusiveness of manufacturing
 Ventilation is needed when using 3DP
indoors
 Need Standardization to ensure
manufacturing quality and safety of
products

12. References
 “3-D Printing of Open Source Appropriate Technologies for
Self-Directed Sustainable Development”, J. M Pearce (2010)
 “Apparatus for production of three-dimensional objects by
stereolithography”, U.S. Patent 4,575,330
 “Could 3D Printing Change the World? Technologies,
Potential, and Implications of Additive Manufacturing”,
Thomas Campbell et.al (2011)
 “Hydrocolloid Printing: A Novel Platform for Customized
Food Production”, Daniel L. Cohen (2009)
 “Life Cycle Analysis of Distributed Recycling of Post-
consumer High Density Polyethylene for 3-D Printing
Filament”, M. A. Kreiger et.al, Michigan Technological
University (2014)
 “Life-cycle economic analysis of distributed manufacturing
with open-source 3-D printers”, B.T. Wittbrodt et.al, (2013)
 “Medical Applications for 3D Printing: Current and Projected
Uses”, C. Lee (2014)
 “Plastic Pollution”, Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser, Our
World in Data, (2018)