A Plastic Sheetpress Workspace

[@NateHaleMusic]

Can you make clear panels to use for a greenhouse? Do you need to add something to the mix to make it UV resistance so it won’t become brittle and break from being in the sun?

[@Jesse__H]

Looks good! I'm sure there's plenty you could make with those sheets if you get a little creative.

[@kendarr]

I see a lot of closed mind people here, these sheets are STOCK material, they are not meant to be used like this, you make stuff with the stock material much like plywood

[@junahmad08]

I wonder if you can make some sort of painting with this. A sunset sounds like it could work.

[@kendarr]

yeah you can, just gotta be really careful when making the drawing with the pallets

[@JavierChiappa]

This could be it's own... art thing.. you know

[@juegamatytutoriales-gamepl4718]

Eficiencia en el trabajo, Genios Totáles..!!!

[@chalilopez10]

Hello, thanks for your videos. I would like to know how many tons that press is?

[@Georgeos777]

how you get clean plastic in masses, because neighbours and collection points give you plastic with al kinds of fluids inside?

[@mohamedelsaka]

What type of silicone do u use?

[@fransjebik8554]

Beautiful. Without heating or is the press heating in the same time? ?

[@AlexanderWunschik]

The press is also heating everything

[@fransjebik8554]

@@AlexanderWunschik Wow, that's great. Thank you. Those plates can they be a on the floor? To walk over etc.? Kitchen, livingroom...

[@fransjebik8554]

@marty lopez Thank you! Imagination is endless without borders! ❤

[@siggitiggi]

@@fransjebik8554 While the answer is yes. It's not a good idea to use pp for flooring. You'll score it up quickly and you'll end up with a hell of a lot of plastic particulate matter as a result.

[@siggitiggi]

@marty lopez That will make it non-recyclable though? Defeating its' very purpose. It will require incineration after that.

[@AlexCio]

Great project, keep up the good work! :)

[@PlasticMama]

I want them!!! :-O (PlasticMama)

[@AndersonPrototypes]

What is the release agent you use? Does it work with most plastics?

[@matiascornejo1103]

Same question! If someone knows please help us :)

[@riccardocenedella4651]

what temperature it reaches?

[@ericktowet3017]

Can we use them as cludding for houses

[@woayerrrr]

Not advisable? Unless it's uPVC?

[@Dawer8D]

Gracias te amo

[@dr.bghanshyam7101]

What is the cost of machine?

[@АлексейСоколов-х8б]

почему температура всего 20 градусов?

[@AbdulAziz-ts1rn]

Minyak pelumas apa yang digunakan itu ? Bisakah menggunakan minyak kelapa ?

[@medhud609]

Tertarik buat kerja bikin kaya gitu2 juga kah pak?

[@kwxj61b]

The only way this is possible, are the free labors. The plastics that comes in need to be washed and dry. Then you got energy cost from the machine like the shredder, heater, extruder, etc...All of that need $$. It's impossible to operate like that on grand scale and make a profit. I know a place in Taiwan that showed how "Environmentally" their operations are, by recycling PET bottle into polyester textile. And made it so glamorous. But in reality, they rely on free/volunteer labors. Otherwise, that operation would not be possible.

[@Your_Friend_Corey]

Labor tends to be cheap in places with high plastic pollution.

[@kwxj61b]

@@Your_Friend_Corey Yeah. I'm in NYC and I have the spaces for the operation but it's just the labor and energy cost will not make it feasible.

[@kendarr]

I don't see whats the problem here in a grand scale, pay people to clean and use the machines, by the time this goes it gets cheaper, but it has to start somewhere

[@kwxj61b]

@@kendarr Unless where you are from that has no minimum wage limit, then it's possible. But here in NYC when "hiring on the book"...no bloody way!

[@RGV2300]

I'd do lego pieces, for cheap 😎

[@QQ-cp8zk]

No quality control?

[@ImranZakhaev9]

For what? It's a sheet of plastic, not load-bearing, or food-grade

[@QQ-cp8zk]

@@ImranZakhaev9 Air pockets.

[@samengsberg875]

Not really, I suppose main goal is the process over the product. They give you the drawings to make the process - its up to the person to ensure quality through controls (temp, time) and find an application that's flexible enough for 100% recycled material.

[@kendarr]

It heats and press at the same, it would be really hard to get air pockets here

[@AlexanderWunschik]

While plastic really is precious, I really don't get how this sheet material is worth all this hustle! Wow can this sheets be used in a substantiale way? (Please don't say "art"!)

[@Jesse__H]

It's a low-cost system for doing _something_ with all this damned plastic waste we have. People in developing regions can build these things from open-source blueprints and start their own little plastic reusing station in their town or village. That's the idea anyway, afaik. It's not really meant for places that have good state-run recycling facilities. They have machines that can make plastic bricks too, which are maybe a bit more practical. Although I can see the sheets being useful for any number of things furniture and roofing spring to mind. They probably cut up pretty well with a jigsaw too...

[@nonebiz2132]

Can be used like a marine grade plywood... I think outdoor furniture is probably one of the best uses. Don't have to worry about mold/mildew/insects, and most plastics already have UV protection added...

[@ChrisBourkeHello]

It's a flat sheet stock. You can do anything with it that can be done with other flat sheet stock. It might be difficult if you aren't very creative to think of uses. - Use it in some cases as a substitute for plywood. It can be cut and finished with all the same tools as working with wood. - Furniture - Joinery - Homewares - Use it for floor and wall tiles in bathroom. - Machine it with laser cutter, CNC router, waterjet, powertools or hand tools.

[@laharl2k]

Depending on the plastic and the accuracy of the thickness you could problably laser cut it to replace wood or acrylic in laser cut products. Most probably you should probably preprocess the plastic to make it more homogenious and to have the colour you want unless you can make it work with the "recycled" look.

[@erickrick3901]

You make products with it, it isn't the product itself. If you look on alibaba, there are no comparable plastics to the plastic that precious plastic makes. This makes it a premium material despite it being plastic. This process makes it possible and within reach of your average person to start a small business manufacturing premium plastic goods that have a unique look while being sustainable.

[@joebywan]

This is cool, but completely out of the reach of a hobbyist.

[@dejayrezme8617]

Well it is meant to be more than a hobby. I'd say an amateur can learn the skills to build this but it's not worth it just "for fun". The idea is that people in developing countries can build these to recycle plastic waste that otherwise ends in the environment or rivers.

[@joebywan]

@@dejayrezme8617 I operate 5 3d printers, but the cost of setting this up I'm better off just throwing my plastic waste in the bin. When it costs $20 for a roll of filament, I'd be losing money trying to recycle it.

[@dejayrezme8617]

@@joebywan Well sure, it's no good for individual plastic recycling. So you're right, I'm just saying these plans are for small businesses or groups to start up plastic recycling workshops. It probably also only is really worth it in countries where labour is very cheap.

[@joebywan]

I'm all for recycling, and I'd be happy to write off my labour, I'm just saying with these designs, the barrier to entry is too high. It's even harder in countries where labour is cheap, because then people have even less money to go buying machined parts & heaters etc. Designing all of this stuff is pretty pointless when they're aiming at this no mans land between industrial and hobbyist, but it still retains an industrial price tag. None of the machinery is a new idea, it's just being wrapped in an 'open source crowd supported' ribbon.

[@dejayrezme8617]

@@joebywan I'd be curious about the economics and environment costs as well. How much does it cost? How useful is the produced stuff really? Does any of this make sense? I'm sure precious plastic is thinking about that too, but they are trying things and doing free research. Like how many plates like that can you make and what can you use them or sell them for? I do think you could build all these machines pretty cheap if you have the time. Machining parts in developing countries might be cheaper or if you know someone. Theoretically you can use arduino to control these machines and build heaters yourself using simple wire. Again it costs time and you need to learn how to but it's possible. I could imagine that it could make sense in developing countries where economics work differently. No money to buy expensive machines or raw materials, but learning is free and building machines from scrap metal and cheap components could help a community.

[@lightdark00]

What actual useful item that’s not decoration can you make with sheets? I rather see plastic turned back into fuel.

[@ImranZakhaev9]

This I just a flexible plywood now. You could make cabinets, benches, tabletops, crates, anything really.

[@lightdark00]

Exile N Subjugate I really wouldn’t want any of those items made of plastic and being such an eyesore to me I wouldn’t even accept a gift like that if free.

[@samengsberg875]

Sheets are a great step for batch operations like compression molding or vacuum forming. I do think you'd need to roll it out to get better strength, but it can be used for plenty of economical applications.

[@denorisanderson1157]

@@samengsberg875 @lightdark00 I believe the color of the products are something that could very easily be manipulated into anything you desire. They are simply showing that its possible to do a sheet of plastic in this manner.

[@kendarr]

those sheets can be used like plywood, or wood in general, if the visuals are no your thing i understand, i tottaly love those colors

[@VagabondTE]

I have a really hard time believing that those sheets are made from PP.

[@ImranZakhaev9]

Why?

[@VagabondTE]

@@ImranZakhaev9 The way it blends, the thermal expansion needed to provide pressure, color, the way the edges are shaped when finished, and all the other unanswered questions their videos entail. I could be wrong, I've never done a sheet that big and my machines work differently. However, I lean toward skepticism because of all the other lies, manipulative framing, and half-truths I seen come from precious plastic.

[@nirodper]

@@VagabondTE ??? Could you elaborate?

[@VagabondTE]

@@nirodper The way that it blends is not conducive to the experiences I've had with PP. Again, I could be wrong. Plastics can vary pretty wildly even under the same type. Especially since we're in different countries. However, I still have trouble believing the results in this instance. PP just doesn't expand that much in my experience. If you're wondering what I mean by expansion, from what I can tell, the press isn't actually squeezing the plastic. They're using a solid metal bar as a mold. Now this is really clever. They're using the thermal expansion in order to remove bubbles and fuse the plastic into a solid sheet. That's why there is a gap around the edges when it cools. It's shrinking back down. They get a perfect square and it seems to be fused pretty well even though they're just loosley pouring the flakes. This is a great method. I'm just having a really hard time believing that that's PP because it just doesn't expand that much. It also melts differently. More often than not the PP I come across is blow molded pretty thin. It reshapes more than it expands. The edges seem much more conducive to HDPE. It's difficult to explain exactly what I mean without the experience. But that just doesn't look like PP to me. Maybe it's temperature, maybe it's size, maybe it's plastic type. These things can all be pretty fluid and small-scale recycling tends to be a bit more technique than recipe.

[@nirodper]

@@VagabondTE Yeah. Keep in mind that according to their timelapse the plastic spent many hours in the press