Water Bottles for 3-D Printing

Students Design Low-Cost Technology

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]wo Santa Clara students presented their project to create 3-D printing filament, the plastic needed to print objects, from water bottles at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose on Feb. 16.

Seniors Jay Dubashi and Brian Grau were invited by the museum to promote their Senior Design Project, AkaBot, at a 3D Print Jam event, which featured presentations on the future of 3-D printing.

The team has partnered with Anudip, a non profit organization in India that trains women in entrepreneurship and other vocational skills. According to Dubashi, Anudip is looking for ways to implement 3-D printing in their training centers.

Grau said that because the filament and the import costs associated with it are very expensive, the team is trying to use plastic that is readily available as material for the 3-D prints.

To save costs, the team uses the machine to take in polyethylene terephthalate water bottles, melt them into a liquid and then extrude them through a dye to make a continuous length of material that can be used by a 3-D printer.

The team works under the supervision of Panthea Sepehrband, an assistant professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department. 

Contact Victoria Juarez at vjuarez@scu.edu .