Creality Promises a "Closed-Loop Filament Workflow" with the Shredder R1 and Filament Maker M1
Take your old waste prints and supports and turn them into brand-new filament, using a pair of sleek desktop devices.
Rapid manufacturing and prototyping firm Creality has announced two upcoming products aimed at reducing the environmental impact of fused filament fabrication: the Shredder R1 and Filament Maker M1, for recycling waste into new filament.
"Filament is no longer something you buy and throw away," the company promises of the impact of its upcoming devices. "It becomes something you control — on your desk. "Two machines. One closed-loop filament workflow. Built to sit beside your 3D printer. Leverage an integrated workflow to reclaim raw waste as precision pellets and extrude them into premium 3D printing filament."
There's no getting around 3D printing being something of a wasteful manufacturing process. Many prints require the use of supports under overhanging sections, and even if you can print a particular thing without supports the printer will still waste filament as it runs — and if you're working iteratively, you may end up with multiple prototype prints to dispose of before you reach the finished design.
Creality's Shredder R1 and Filament Maker M1 are designed to fix that. The first, as the name implies, turns waste filament into particles using a hybrid "dry-crush" approach that renders them into a ≤4mm (around ≤0.16") feedstock. This can then be fed into the latter, which turns it back into filament again — producing up to a claimed 1kg (around 2.2lbs) of ready-to-use filament per hour.
Both devices are compatible with eight materials — PLA, ABS, PETG, ASA, PA, PC, TPU, and PET — with the Filament Maker M1 supporting additives for scent, natural-material fills, and the ability to produce multi-color gradients on a single spool. Its output, Creality claims, is stable to a ±0.05mm (around ±0.002") when using brand-new "virgin" pellet stock — though this jumps to ±0.1mm (around ±0.004") when using recycled pellets from the Shredder R1.
The company has confirmed plans to launch both devices via crowdfunding in the near future, but has not yet announced pricing or availability. More information is available on the Creality website.