Development and characterisation of 3D printing finishing process applying recycled plastic waste

ABSTRACTIn recent years, additive manufacturing technologies have been playing an important role in the global economy. Consequently, low-cost 3D printers rose in the domestic environment, accelerating the development of startup companies and new market segments. Nevertheless, with regard to 3D printing based on fused filament fabrication, several challenges still need to be overcome, such as those related to surface finishing and mechanical strength. Moreover, 3D printing in the domestic environment also generates untreated plastic waste, which can cause environmental problems. For these reasons, the main goal of this work is to introduce and characterise 3D printing surface finishing post-processing using recycled plastic waste. As the main results of this work, the proposed recycling process was confirmed to improve object properties. Whereas surface roughness was reduced from 27 to 3 µm, while mechanical strength was increased in 20 times. The application of recycled material for chemical welding was ...