SIE professor helps students reduce plastic waste
(From left) Erian Perez-Gamboa, Malcolm West, Samantha Perry, Lauren Froberg, Shelby Janssen, David Sepulveda and Tej Scott comprise Team 25009, which is focusing on reducing 3D printer waste in the Engineering Design Center.
A recent study out of the University of Arizona Engineering Design Center found that more than a quarter of all 3D printer runs result from user error, wasting the plastic filament. One capstone team is tackling this problem to make for more efficient work and a cleaner environment.
Team 25009 is fashioning a tool that can automatically adjust the 3D printer settings to match the needs of the design input. If a user selects the wrong plastic filament for a 3D printout, the tool can automatically override the incorrect settings and use the proper plastic source or it can stop the print process so the user can make a correction.
SIE assistant professor Hannah Budinoff is advising the team. Team 25009’s project uses inexpensive, off-the-shelf, optical scanning technology and a machine learning algorithm to quickly evaluate the filament. A spectral scanner in the tool takes visual spectrum, infrared, and near infrared readings, which are processed by a machine learning algorithm.