Alvendia, Kim I.

Development of 3d printing filament extrusion machine using polyethylene terephthalate bottle/ Kim I. Alvendia, Philip Joshua F. Amista, Mars Laurenz C. Manginsay, James Louie R. Rivera, and Jamil N. Tupas.-- - Manila: Technological University of the Philippines, 2024. - xiii, 109pages: 29cm.

Bachelor's thesis

College of Industrial Technology.--

Includes bibliographic references and index.

The increasing demand for sustainable and cost-effective solutions in 3D printing has
driven the exploration of innovative recycling methods. This study focuses on the
development of a 3D printing filament extrusion machine designed to utilize polyethylene

terephthalate (PET) bottles as a 3D printer filament. The machine integrates a custom-
designed extrusion mechanism, temperature control, and semi automation using an Arduino

Nano and a motorized stripping module to produce filament from recycled PET bottles.
The project prototype has five sections namely extrusion section for which the PET is
converted into filament, stripping section that turns the PET bottle into strips, controller
section for controlling the system, spooling section for storage of strips and extruded PET
bottles and the case section for the base which maintains all machine components while
keeping them stable. Several types of PET bottles were tested to evaluate its viability as
extrusion material based on factors such as extrusion time, strip length, and filament
quality. Experimental results showed that Bottle 1 produce a strip bottle from trail 1 to 3
with a length range from 1.9m to 2.3m and produce a filament of 1.9m to 2.3 m. Bottle 2
shows a result of 1.24m to 1.24m in length and with no filament produce. Bottle 3 shows a
result of 1.23m to 1.24m strips produced and with a filament measuring 1.23m to 1.24m.
Bottle 4 has a length of strip bottle of 2.9m to 4.5m and the filament produce is between
3.9m to 4.1m. Bottle 5 produce a length of 1.23m to 1.25m and with a filament length
produce of 1.23m to 1.26m ,with an optimal temperature range of 220-240°C for extrusion.
The respondents evaluated the prototype as “excellent” across various criteria, yielding and
overall mean of x̅=4.91. The findings of this research demonstrate the potential of
transforming PET waste into valuable filament for 3D printing applications, contributing
to both environmental sustainability and the advancement of low-cost 3D printing
technology.


3D printing
Filament extrusion
PET bottles

BTH TK 870 / A48 2024