You Can Build Your Own E-Waste 3D Printer

By on November 19th, 2014 in printer

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You have USD$60? You can build own own 3D printer from a pile of e-waste.

It won’t be a very good 3D printer, but it will definitely work. A recent Instructable produced by member mikelllc shows the steps to get it going. It’s not entirely made from e-waste, but mikelllc says you’ll use about “80% of recycled components”.

What kind of e-waste is required? For mechanical motion the required items are a couple of CD/DVD drives and an old floppy disc drive, so long as they employ stepper motors. You’ll also need to find a spare power supply and plenty of wiring. 

New components required (if you don’t have them handy) include an Arduino board and some purpose-cut panels to make up the printer’s case.

It is certainly a bit of work to complete this project, but it clearly demonstrates there’s still value in that e-waste, which otherwise would hit the landfill or remain on someone’s shelf for eternity. 

Via Instructables

By Kerry Stevenson

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!