Filabot: Changing Plastics
Have you heard of 3D printing? Basically, it works much in the same way as an inkjet printer. However, instead of ink it uses plastic, and obviously prints in 3 dimensions. This offers the average person endless opportunities. The amateur inventor no longer has to look for a manufacturer to make their prototype. They can simply print it out on their desk.
3D printing also offers exciting opportunities for society as a whole. Some suggest that in the future, whole houses could be 3D printed in under 20 hours! 3D modular homes could be used to replace rundown slums in inner cities. Medical products have been made available to poor areas because of the inexpensive 3D manufacturing process as well.
A new product, called the Filabot, is looking to make 3D printing look like an even more enticing option. This product allows you to take your recyclable plastics (numbers 1-7) and melt them down right in your own home. The device fits on a desktop, and produces the plastic filament used in the 3D printing process. In theory, one could take their old milk jugs, turn them into an exciting new product, and melt the result down again if you aren’t satisfied.
The project, which is run by a 20 year old entrepreneur, is still in its infancy. The first consumer units are now shipping, and new models are in development that increase convenience and efficiency. In the future, it is entirely possibly that all of our recyclables can be reused in the home to make other needed items around the house.
This device allows you to take your ideas and turn them into reality using resources you otherwise were just putting in the recycling bin.
Here is a video of a small prototype in action!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=712nrXmdkIg
-David
