Roboze Launches Circular Economy Waste Initiative for 3D-Printed Parts

The Roboze Circular Economy Program Model. (Image courtesy of Roboze.)

High-temperature industrial 3D printer developer Roboze officially launched its new circular economy program, which will help optimize the consumption of materials and energy while simultaneously enabling more sustainable design and manufacturing processes. Customers who use Roboze’s 3D printing systems can return waste material and 3D-printed parts once they reach the end of their life cycles. The material and part waste will then be recycled and reused as 3D printing filament. According to Roboze, this program is aimed toward creating a more sustainable model that allows the company to democratize the use of its 3D printing technology while providing users with circular materials at lower prices compared to the original products.

The concept of a circular economy seeks to optimize the use of resources with the objective of avoiding or eliminating waste. Applying this model to 3D printing processes would mean repurposing waste and reducing the environmental footprint created by the additive manufacturing sector. According to researchers from the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (UNIDEMI), there are numerous opportunities to improve sustainability within 3D printing. Increased collaboration between industry partners could usher in a way to address the United Nation’s sustainability goals with additive manufacturing processes.

“We are working to refine the management of the entire supply chain, at any cost and with all the necessary efforts,” shared Roboze Founder and CEO Alessio Lorusso. “3D printing technology can be one of the solutions to combat CO₂ emissions, reducing transport and producing just in time and on-demand.”

3D-printed parts produced by Roboze. (Image courtesy of Roboze.)

The program will be integrated with the recently launched Roboze 3D Parts Network, an on-demand distributed 3D printing service, to facilitate the decentralized production of parts.

The service was initially developed to help organizations reduce costs by streamlining supply chains, digitalizing inventories, and producing components on demand. According to Roboze, the goal is to promote a decentralized production model of microfactories in the industry. This means that specialized 3D printing centers across the world will be equipped with Roboze’s printing systems, where parts are produced where and when they are required. This is expected to not only reduce costs and time to market but also to address challenges surrounding transport and excess inventory.

Earlier this year, Roboze also unveiled Roboze Automate, an industrial automation system that was designed to streamline production workflow by addressing challenges in standardization, process control, and repeatability within 3D printing. The platform, which is a technological ecosystem that is equipped with a PLC industrial automation system, can integrate into the production workflow of manufacturers and enable customized batches of up to 3,000 pieces on a single machine. It manages the entire process autonomously and automatically certifies each component that is produced. This is possible thanks to on-site process control and certification reports, which are directly stored in the machine.

The technology was developed in partnership with automation and process control technology developer B&R.

Roboze has been continuously looking to shift to more sustainable production models and energy-efficient processes. These two solutions were developed as part of the company’s efforts toward reducing the environmental impact of the organization and its customers. The addition of the circular economy waste recovery initiative is expected to further reduce plastic waste production and enable more sustainable outcomes for users.

The program is set to begin in January 2022.

For more information, visit Roboze’s official website.