Melt your 3D Prints!

[@GeekHotfix]

LITERALLY wife just walked into my office while on the video you talked about buying a blender, and she said "So I guess I will be expecting a Blender and an Oven in this room" and walked away!

[@GeekHotfix]

@Unclejessy. 😆😆😆 I see what you did there adding a period after the name...

[@justincase3230]

maybe get her a spa day or something "just because I love you babe" They like that, buys you a lot of leeway for a couple months.

[@87livinglegend]

Why are they like this

[@kukri1877]

3D print her a spa!!

[@airmanaw3]

The first thing that came to my mind when you pulled out the first mold. I want to make some D&D dice out of my scraps

[@UncleJessy]

I know right?!

[@andrewlongfellow8745]

Definitely this.

[@LeonardGreenpaw]

If the filament has a comfortable margin between melt and burn temps. If you melt them first and then pour them into a mold, you might be able to get a better finish. and make sure to mix in some plastic with a lower melting temp or lower viscosity to have better flow, that will also help getting those bubbles out doing it the normal way

[@roll4stealth671]

How do you pour it. I tried melting and never gets liquid enough to pour it in molds.

[@LeonardGreenpaw]

@@roll4stealth671 The plastic type is the most important factor. I dont know which filament has the best flow

[@brianbaratheon]

Suggestion: When blending, wear a mask. Especially if you make a living 3D printing, and therefore have a lot of waste that you are recycling. The fine particles that are created while blending, and that you may not realize you are breathing in, will eventually catch up to you if you don't wear the appropriate safety gear for your eyes and lungs. It is also advisable that you melt your waste in a well ventilated room, along with blending.

[@fookingsog]

@Uncle Jessy If you were going to do a large item with alot of void area inside, you could always partial fill, wad up some aluminum foil to fill the space and then fill up the ground up filament around it...kinda like what you do when you're making an armature for clay sculptures!!!😁👍🏻 PS--would cut down on the bake time as the PLA would be at the exterior of the object.

[@UncleJessy]

That right there is a fantastic suggestion! Will be giving that a try

[@UncleJessy]

This was a fun one. Part 2 coming soon 🌭

[@workshopetech]

These kind of videos are fun! Are you doing a review of simplify 3D v5? I think you are one of the few 3D printing KZbinrs (I follow) that still actually uses it, and I'm interested to see what you think of the changes.

[@fatalcircuit007]

What if you melt the filament and then pour it?

[@lokiwartooth1138]

Try mold release next time also when you put more filament in press down on the melted mass to rid it of air bubbles 🎉

[@lazyman1011]

Nice topic, I would know more about it. What’s your experience, which silicon mixture you use, how thick are the walls etc. .

[@SkitZHitZ]

cant you use the same stuff they use to make spru glue, people use stuff to turn sprues into a glue i cant remember exactly what it is its in nail polish remover it melts the plasyic down try using dice molds i think that would be such an amazing way to use left overs and amazing look for dice

[@lynn6799]

I definitely wouldn't melt anything in an oven that you use for food. Good ventilation while melting is most likely a good idea. Probably set up in your garage, barn, or outdoor shed. Something you could test out: grind up your leftovers as tiny as possible. Then mix a batch of resin. Add the plastic grindings to the resin. Pour into a mold of your choice.

[@coulterjb22]

Right on! Making complex molds is a blast. I've been over-molding things into my designs. Its a blast!

[@dekopuma]

Another option that would work well is to take the ground up pieces and mix them up with casting resin before pouring into the molds. That way you don't have to actually melt the plastic.

[@gamedev_byhobby8872]

Would work if they're ground to a fine level and then added almost like glitter, but can be not as fine as glitter of course

[@tritoobe]

I hate to throw away PLA waste from supports and fail prints. I've been researching on how I could transform it back to a recycled filament, but it is just too complicated. That's a great way to give them a purpose! Thanks for the video!

[@123Dresin]

You need some high temperature silicone if you are going to be placing it in the oven so you wont have to worry about any problems. Smooth on makes high temperature silicones for mold making.

[@swamppifi6186]

This is what I like about the community, someone tries a new idea, and gets great result, and shares it, the community goes forward with a new tool in our box of trick...I tried to buy the skull mold today, and now they are sold out...luck I have a spare silicon skull ice cube mold to play with....and plenty of glitter to mix in....

[@Lilrockerdude13]

Wonderful idea, I have been using grey PLA+ like crazy and I have so many saved supports. Be fun to get some simple props with the waste, or at least make it usable for test painting on the smaller model designs.

[@Arceus3251]

For the blending process... Would it be wise to wear a respirator? Microplastics and such.. other than that, cool as heck! I gotta try this one myself!

[@gamingwithbean7961]

We ingest about a credit card size of micro plastics a week lol you will be fine as long as your doing with in a open area and not dumping it right after the blender is finished. I would let it sit for about a minute so anything small flying around is now settled.

[@davetriesthis]

But a credit card size is too much. We ingest too much to start with. It's like saying you get a cigarette if second hand smoke a day so another cigarette will be fine.

[@marcbrugere7489]

This is exactly what a guy has been doing on TikTok for a long time now. Same molds and mica powder ideas too. If I find his name I’ll add it on here. He has full detailed instructions from the shredding to the melting

[@elysianfields84]

Did you ever find his name?

[@anthonyp4209]

Smooth on make some high temp silicone you might get better mileage out of

[@UncleJessy]

Oh man! Okay, I gotta go look into that! Thanks!

[@RoseKindred]

I am looking forward to seeing more expanded videos from you. In case you didn't know, if you want to make a mold with your resin printer you will need to either use a Tin based mold mix or use Inhibit X to coat the resin before molding with a Platinum mix.

[@MaximilianonMars]

Aha is that right? It's a good tip, I didn't know the resin for printers had that issue. Most cheap plasticines also suffer from silicone curing inhibition.

[@RoseKindred]

@@MaximilianonMars Yeah, unfortunately. You need an inhibitor of some type, tin-based, or use an older print to mold. I don't have any to test that last one but supposedly small prints can take up to 6 months to degas enough to use platinum-based. I have heard of a few types of specialty printable resin that are okay to use on their own, but none I can name off hand.

[@Thanos88888]

Do you think a simple clear coat over a resin print would work?

[@RoseKindred]

@@Thanos88888 It is possible, I know people make cosplay props, for example, use spray cans and cover the prop before molding. For both FDM and Resin. That is essentially what Inhibit X does. But, it also depends on how much detail you want. Each layer adds thickness to the model and can settle in recesses making them less defined, so if it is something very small and fine I would be careful. " TheCrafsMan " has several good videos on this.

[@br0k3nilluzion]

This is gonna be a fun series to follow. Looking forward to more molds and master molds.

[@zzace00]

I'm thinking of starting up my own etsy shop for 3d prints in the near future, and this seems like a great way to use any scraps/failed prints from printing products. Thanks for another great video!

[@UncleJessy]

100% and apparently they sell fairly well also!

[@zzace00]

@@UncleJessy could you also try using a 3d pen and injecting material into a silicon mold that way rather than just using scraps? Might make for an interesting video

[@FJ_Beaujangles]

@@zzace00 do 3d pens get enough flow to fill up an injection mold? Last I saw they only lightly extrude, and at a temperature slightly lower than a printer, but it would be interesting to try

[@nathan1sixteen]

I’d recommend getting an electric grain mill and not a blender. The blenders tend to brake fairly quickly, whereas the grain mill will hold up better

[@pirobot668beta]

I used an Ultrabase print bed, arranged scrap PLA filament bits to make a nice pattern; in my minds eyes, I was making a collage. I popped the thing into an oven, baked it at around 180C until the material 'slumped' into one big thing. As it cooled, I heard popping and cracking noises, and finally a very loud BANG as the glass under the PLA exploded! Did you know that cooling PLA can strip the black surface and glass off of Ultrabase? I now have a print-bed missing about 1/3 of its surface, to a depth of 1-2 mm! Ultrabase and PLA will permanently fuse at PLA melting temps.

[@thomasheisler]

Jessy, try silicone mold release, I been playing around 3d prints and molds. but im not sure what type of mold release you should use,, there is a few different types

[@UncleJessy]

Yeah i have two! For sure using them in the 2nd video for my 3D Prints + silicone for the release... works extremely well

[@David115599]

I did this with my parents belnder about 6 years ago, they were not too happy about it, but it has been my go to method for reusing scraps since then

[@2nd-place]

Build your own vacuum chamber (it’s fairly easy) and you can pump out the bubbles. May need to keep it on a hot plate inside while removing the bubbles.

[@Nonprofessional_Tinkerer]

Just how viscous can PLA become? would it be possible to melt everything in a pot like you would gold or silver and then pour into a mould?

[@dustinwheat4096]

Alternatively you can also get a filament extruder and recycle your spent filament. Regardless dont trash your filament, store it and reuse it

[@SecularMentat]

That's a great idea, printing your own molds for this. Definitely going to give this a try.

[@agepbiz]

I so want to do this! I have a large box full of failed prints and such that I have been saving for future recycling, and this might be the way to go. I would need a big grinder for it though, one of those more industrial looking grinders. Might have to start saving up

[@TheNextDecade]

Oh maaan I'm gonna try this with some of my old silicone molds!

[@zaxdezignz8698]

On the side of safety and in my opinion, I would like to state that this temp or those baking temps are too low and at that temp, You're creating a toxic gas. Make sure to wear a respirator as well.

[@lextalionis-u2v]

@zaxdesignz8698 Do you have any recommendations on handling temps here? I am considering this idea at some point since there aren’t many services with good recycling resources for 3D printed stuff.

[@EugeneShamshurin]

Just had my first melt. Thank you for inspiration!

[@josepharenstein8071]

when you go to add more PLA I'd give the mold a few taps on the side or maybe drop it from a low height a few times to get rid of some of the bubbles and voids if you were trying to get an even smoother surface.

[@DonsArtnGames]

Yay! no more trashing "excess" filament. Thanks Kuya Jessy

[@MaryThompson63]

Do you think it would make sense to melt down the filament chips in a glass (Pyrex) cup first, then pouring the goop into a silicone mold? I really like this solution to 'recycling' filament scraps.

[@MecanoDeLaCave]

The algorithm brought me here. Man my first thought is "where can I buy Gridfinity silicon molds?". I do wonder if you could use a cheaper and especially more space-efficient way than using a blender. While a second-hand blender might not be super expensive, it also takes up a lot of space, which is not practical for a hobbyist with limited space like myself. I saw someone using a drill and a specially made jig to transform filament into pellets, but I wonder if you could do something similar that'd accept random sized plastic. As for the over, unfortuantely I guess there's no way around the space issue, gotta buy the smallest cheapest used oven you can find. Starting 3d printing brings you down the rabbit hole of just doing more stuff.

[@AndrewSink]

The perfect use for failed prints! Nice work!

[@UncleJessy]

or all them benchys haha

[@plasticarcade]

why not melt the plastic in some sort of pot like a double boiler or something similar to melting metal then just pour into the molds and let it kool, I suppose with that much plastic you would have to deal with a lot shrinkage and warping, however at least you won't melt your molds and you can use a mold release that way and you wear your molds out as quick.

[@DonkeyKicksVh]

Would you need the blender for purged filament with multicolor prints?

[@scottyadamz]

Great Idea, I also seen the same thing on TikTok. Good use of scraps.

[@UncleJessy]

YEP! Thats exactly where I was seeing it as well!

[@bonovoxel7527]

Very well done Sir. The skull is such a recognizable shape that the eye forgives those many bubbles, and it's a cool 300g gadget if i got ounces right. Pretty much a self defense weapon! :) I'd suggest to find a way (I haven't imagined yet) to pull air out of the mixture. Idk if taking the mold out of the oven to pull it in a vacuum chamber at every melt after you add material, is feasible. The vacuum insulates a lot and the molten pla should not exchange so much heat to cristallize in the time you take it outta oven and pull vacuum to it, but I haven't tried, so... I'm watching you do it for us! :) Ideally the vacuum chamber and the oven should be the same enclosure. Or better, but complicated, could be trying to set up a rudimental injection system, or somehow pour in the mold already molten pla.

[@jeffreyhull6821]

They sell mold release spray to extend the life of the molds.

[@DumbMultipotentialite]

this is so cool I was just throwing scraps away when I could be doing this!!!

[@MaheerKibria]

This would in my opninion be better for resin waste. The molds would hold out much longer since the temperature would not nearly be as high. All you would do is chop it up like with the FDM and then use ether clear uv resin if the walls are thin enough and transmit uv light or epoxy. meaning you should get more uses out of it. Next low and slow is the way to go if you want your molds to survive. Silicone molds usually start smoking at 365-370 unless it's specifically a high temp silicone luckily most PLAs melt at about 355 so that lower temperature while taking a lot of time will keep the molds at a better temp and therefore decrease the rate of degredation of the mold

[@rensdebrouwer8643]

Good video, i never sorted out my bambu poop. So its all mixed PLA and PETG. Did your (print)poop contain petg as well? Im afraid my skull would crack from petg not binding well to the PLA. Hope to get your opinion, keep up the good work

[@ToddRafferty]

Sooooo.... what do you do with the silicon waste if you only get 3-5 usage out of them?

[@Andykerrfield]

Could you melt the scraps in a glass measuring jug (one suitable for an oven) and then pour in the mould? Just made my first silicone mould from a 3d print, definitely could have been better and probably should have started with a simpler print.. plus if you're gonna use the Lego bricks that come with the sets, word to the wise, tape them up! Lost most of it first time trying 😢 Made a few candles now but after watching this thought could make a copy with all the waste filament I'd been collecting, nice one 👍

[@demonwolf097]

Do you think it would also be viable to use a heat gun to heat the moulds instead of baking them?

[@specialingu]

i also thought of a source pan....

[@huntern3071]

It might just be better to stuff these molds with scrap and then just put resin in. No melting just blender

[@DaMoNarch91]

Can you melt the plastic first and then pour into the mold?

[@Ryoku1]

My big question is, can we find an easy way to melt these scraps down into a format that will let us use the bottle > filament method and create new filament with them? I'm thinking melt them into very thin sheets that are bendable and then cutting them into strips.

[@SergioEduP]

I mean, even just melting them down into sheets of different thicknesses could be useful for other kinds of projects.

[@daynafost]

It says sold out. I have been trying to get a 3D printer for months and when I did finally order one it never came. Can you please tell me where I can get this printer or one like it?

[@ChadsCustomCreations]

Very cool I love how that big skull came out.

[@mszoomy]

I have a bunch of silicone molds because I used to do resin casting, gonna test this NOW! thanks

[@lennescustomcreations]

Another thing you could do is melt the filament before you put it in the molds but you way looks cool because of all the colors

[@matwyder4187]

Collecting these PLA chunks sorted by color, I'm still planning to try and re-melt them to produce some recycled filament one day. More than likely terrible quality, cloggy, uneven thickness, totally unusable stuff, but who knows. Still sounds like a classy way to waste time, money and precious energy on a hopelessly challenging project. Until then, it's quite useful for welding larger parts together where it's suitable and out of sight.

[@jamescrawford8538]

If we could melt resin we could do so much

[@jasonstatham5879]

Are you using any sort of special silicone to make your own molds?

[@TAiiNE]

Hey Jessy, just a question: But how do you maintance your 3d printers? Mine develuped a clog and so far all the tips and tricks I seen out there seem to not be working, as though the filamint seems to flow, it is now 100% failing to print with the neptune 3. So far contacting elegoo has yilded zero replies and its been 4 months. No matter the filament used, temps used, it keeps coming out springy and I can not find any information outside the stadard push the needle up inside, try and hot pull, etc to fix it. It's pretty much killed my plans of printing holiday stuff and gifts and today was my deadline before a trip out, and I stil couldn't get it to print even the first layer without being a mushed stringy mess.

[@specialingu]

you could change the nozzle? the other option is to take the hot end apart, it could be something bad has happened to the ptfe tube, or you have a gap... theres probably video guides todo that on youtube

[@anotheryoutuber_]

i switched to a larger .6 mm nozzle 3 years ago for less issues, faster printing, stronger layers, also ill do cold pulls when switching colors or filament type.

[@TAiiNE]

@@specialingu I've never changed the nozzel before and so far only seen conflicting videos on how to do it on other machines, even elegoos own even says I need some sort of heat resistant glue while others say you don't? Not even sure what caused the clog, just using the same filiment I used for several prints and it just went all thin like only some of it was coming through, and that still seems to be the case.

[@tebald]

I saw a video recently for a filament machine that takes the scrap, feeds it through a hopper, melts it, and creates new filament with the scraps, wondering if you've looked into them and if the cost of the machine is worth paying to recover the waste?

[@rubenverster250]

nope you take a about 10 tons of wastage or 10 years to break even :P

[@theinfinite855]

Looks like an acid trip and a half! I love it!

[@bert_b13]

Love this. Recycling without having to build an expensive infrastructure to do it!!

[@Zeldur]

..... hmmm...... This combined with a little flurish with a 3D pen looks like a great filler for stock. I do love this because I've honestly have been reluctant to print like crazy due to the waste. This would help

[@TrueMetalGaming]

How about printing a mold of a wall, fill it and then spray paint. Rince and repeat to end up with modular walls that can be attached together. That seems like a good idea to me to end up with no waste at all and with extra imperfections that will make it look uneven which is perfect for caves for example.

[@JcBravo8]

Question. Is it possible/safe to melt scrap PLA to fill in gaps or holes on a model?

[@outdoortherapy6596]

what about melting the waste in a cast iron pot and then pour into the silicone mold?

[@UnknownOriginFX]

Why not melt first then pore into the mold. Probably help prevent those air pockets and save the mold

[@AndreasJKC]

Maybe try pre-melting the filaments? That way you can pour the liquid plastic in the mold, for better results? I'm imagining doing it like people who do soft fishing baits (like Worlds Worst fishing), if possible. Could be worth a re-visit IMO :D

[@davetriesthis]

You could probably melt down a while baking tray at once to liquid and pour that into a mold.

[@francoiscouture5952]

You should use some kind of crusible to melt the platic in first, and then pour it into the mold. it would probably be safer. but good way to reuse old scrap piece!

[@andrewlongfellow8745]

How did the blender hold up? My wife is starting to dislike how much wasted plastic I go through. I’d love to be able to recycle it into something somewhat useful. I saw a cnc kitchen episode where he sourced his own plastic shredder and assembled it. It was expensive but he was able to use it with a direct drive hotend where it had a spot to pour in ground up pla.

[@EugeneShamshurin]

Actually I found that blender was unnecessary. I even put the whole failed prints, and they melted successfully. So unless you're making something tiny, don't bother

[@maddestmike5791]

At 5:10 did you mean the filament melting or the mold melting?

[@trustyourforce4041]

I have tried this yet but I've been saving my scraps to do it in the future. I've seen people using griddles or panini presses to make flat things like coasters or pendants.

[@TechJeeper]

I recommend using Mold Release Spray. It would make your molds last longer.

[@seigeengine]

Given he's using temperatures that break down silicone in the first place, I feel like that's probably not a big factor.

[@TheFalseEsquire]

How’s often did you have to check the oven while they were cooking down in the mold?

[@rubenverster250]

every 10 minutes

[@metasamsara]

i want to make custom dice with a resin printer. it seems everyone is making masters for creating molds. is the material so bad it cant just print good dice?

[@Franco-Zana]

Can you do it with resin 3d printers supports?

[@danielhastings3167]

Great video! I wonder if it might be easier to melt the scraps in a pan and then pour it into the molds after it liquifies.

[@bronxsmash8869]

thank you for this it's a real cool idea for converting waste pla in to more things

[@Gorgon132]

I'd suggest checking out the local thrift/2nd hand store for a used blender.

[@10-eproductions25]

Might be able to use some resin to fill in the holes and give it a more polished look.

[@Dad_with_a_drone]

I’ve been looking for an oven safe mould all I can see is the epoxy ones, it’s not clear if they’re over safe or not lol

[@ZulkirVT]

Dude, this is pretty bad ass! loving it!

[@comeoutandpla]

Did you find that the molds were weaker after one use? I tried a bunch of different temps to see if it made a difference, but it always felt like the silicone was breaking down after only one use

[@seigeengine]

100%. The temperatures being used are about the temperatures silicone breaks down. You might be better off making your own molds using a silicone designed for higher temperatures, though I don't know how demolding will go.

[@tballew]

Nice! Now we just need to figure out how to recycle the silicone molds 🤔

[@deathstar-l7g]

your own 3d printed silicone mold you printed them with silicone filament?

[@Lance_Tonkin98]

Yes!!! Looking forward to part 2

[@guardiandragons3633]

Melt the filament first then pour it into the molds, your molds will last a lot longer that way, never bake your molds.

[@leatherbound4233]

Great idea's and that skull, cool and creepy as hell at the same time!

[@fooman2108]

The Salvation Army are another famous used appliance stores would be a good place to get a blender like that or you could always go garage sailing. Sounds like an interesting project

[@patrickgerrits1029]

So…how does the mold not melt/break?

[@goatmodegaming]

This is a very good idea

[@UncleJessy]

Yeah a pretty fun project

[@taxn]

Why wouldn’t you melt everything in one container that can take the high heat, then pour that into the mold. Seems a lot easier and safer. Not to mention you’d get a far better finish

[@geordiepridesmiler]

Do you think you could use an airfryer to do this ?

[@blakedavison8850]

You should do some strength testing to see how strong this gets once melted down. Not going to be ideal strength of the original material but stronger than a 3D printed model for sure

[@nikolqy]

that looks like one of the fanciest blenders i've ever seen also, is this okay for health? seems like there might be a lot of chemicals

[@Drakonaut]

I actually have a tub for all my printing waste just sitting waiting for me to reuse it somehow. I might do this with some. I make a lot of large prints so tons of support material

[@AndrewAttard78]

You're on to something here. How about a silicone mold for something more practical like the base to a helmet stand. I wouldn't mind too many of those around.

[@doukasphatskool9364]

The correct process to avoid airbubbles completely would be to premelt the pla till it takes a liquid state in a bain marie / crucible, pour it into a proper silicone mold (there are silicones available in the market able to withstand 300 Celcius) and finally put the mold in a vaccum chamber so that the vaccum pressure could fill all the gaps. You will have to position your mold correctly in space, since the highest points of a corner are more probable to catch an air bubble. Prober air vents would medicate that.

[@huyu463]

i have two 20kg buckets of filament scraps waiting to be recycled, im going to try this out

[@KungFuChess]

Better if you melt the PLA first in a glass container then pour and press it into the mold to cure