The MELT Process
washing
Before plastic flakes are melted and reprocessed into new objects, it is important to remove contaminants like paper and food residue as thoroughly as possible. Using a modified top-loading washing machine, plastics will be rinsed and sterilized. This washing step is crucial because plastic flow properties change as the material purity drops– another area for research is increasing purity of materials.
sorting
After collection, plastic has to be sorted by material. Since plastics come in every color and texture imaginable, simply sorting by material can be a difficult task. Fortunately, the recycling numbers (Resin Identification Codes) visible on many plastic containers simplify the process. Additionally, many plastic items are typically made from standard materials—Starbucks cups are Polypropylene (RID #5), shopping bags are HDPE, electric wire-casings are PVC. In addition to sorting by hand, research will be conducted into liquid-density sorting and novel methods.
shredding
Plastic waste is shredded into flakes which will be used in the other machines to create new things. You can select the output size of these flakes by changing the sieve inside the machine to create different patterns and processes.
Turning raw plastic into objects
We rely on two different approaches to create our final products:
extrusion
Plastic waste is shredded into flakes which will be used in the other machines to create new things. You can select the output size of these flakes by changing the sieve inside the machine to create different patterns and processes.
compression
Plastic is heated inside the oven and slowly pressed into a mold with a carjack. Well suited to make large and more solid objects, the oven itself is also a great machine for prototyping and making plastic research experiments due to the precise temperature control.
