3D Printing Old Milk Jugs
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JULY amp front_back_am&p master template 2010 QX6.qxt 6/22/2014 4:17 PM Page 47 3D printing old milk jugs A study led by Joshua Pearce of Michigan Technological University (MTU), Houghton, shows that making plastic 3D printer filament from milk jugs uses less energy—often a lot less—than recycling them conventionally. The team did a life cycle analysis on a typical milk jug made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic. After cleaning it and cutting it in pieces, it was put through an office shredder and a RecycleBot, which turns waste plastic into 3D printer filament. Compared to an ideal urban recycling program, which collects and processes plastic locally, turning milk jugs into filament at home uses about 3% less energy. “Where it really shows substantial savings is in smaller towns, where you have to transport the plastic to be collected, then again to be recycled, and a third time to be made into products,” says Pearce, associate professor of materials science and engineering. In this scenario, energy savings skyrocket to 70-80%. And, recycling your own milk jugs uses 90% less energy than making virgin plastic Old milk jugs can be recycled into filament for 3D printing, saving both from petroleum. For more information: Joshua Pearce, money and the environment. Courtesy of Sarah Bird/MTU. 906.487.1466, [email protected], mtu.edu. The world’s tiniest magazine cover National Geographic Kids claimed its ninth Guinness World Records title for the smallest magazine cover, using patented technology from IBM, Armonk, N.Y., at the USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington. To create the record-setting cover, IBM scientists invented a tiny “chisel” with a heatable silicon tip 100,000 times smaller than a sharpened pencil point. Using this nanosized tip, which creates patterns and structures on a microscopic scale, it took scientists just 10 minutes and 40 seconds to etch the magazine cover onto a polymer. The resulting magazine cover measures 11 × 14 µm. National Geographic Kids let its readers vote online for their favorite design and they chose the March 2014 cover, which earned the honor of a microscopic National Geographic Kids claimed its ninth Guinness World Records title for the smallest version, visible through a ZEISS Axio Imager 2 microscope. magazine cover, using patented technology research.ibm.com, guinnessworldrecords.com, from IBM, Armonk, N.Y. kids.nationalgeographic.com. Exclusive color developed for company’s 75th anniversary Axalta Coating Systems, Glen Mills, Pa., developed a special formulation of Diamond Red exclusively for Peterbilt, Denton, Tex. Peterbilt is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year by unveiling a limited production Model 579 truck featuring state-of-the-art aerodynamics, distinctive styling, and coated with a two-tone paint design that is a modern version of the Diamond Red color on its original 1939 model. The Imron Elite paint line is the exclusive topcoat used at Peterbilt manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. An identical product is used in the commercial vehicle aftermarket by Peterbilt dealers and repair centers to ensure customer satisfaction and repair-in-kind quality. axaltacoatingsystems.com, peterbilt.com. Peterbilt’s exclusive new color, Diamond Red, is formulated to bring out the lines and details of the truck, while showcasing new effect pigments in the Imron Elite paint line from Axalta Coating Systems. ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES • JULY 2014 47.