Local filament manufacturer 3Dom USA released a 3D printing filament today that is the first of its kind. They call it Wound Up, and it is the first filament on the market made from coffee. The filament is made from coffee leftovers, the team said, claiming that the material creates a “rich brown color with a noticeable natural grain.”
“There really is no one else out there that’s making a coffee material right now,” said 3Dom USA and Fargo 3D Printing co-founder John Schneider. “It’s just a unique material. You’re using something that otherwise would have just been thrown away.”
Wound Up is the debut of an ongoing partnership between 3Dom USA and local biocomposite company c2renew, and the first in a line of filaments called c2renew Composites. You may remember the coffee filament use to create C2Renew’s coffee cup made from coffee – Wound Up is the modified, mass produce-able version, Schneider said.
“Wound Up filament can be printed on any machine capable of printing with PLA and comes spooled on the 100% bio-based Eco-Spool,” 3Dom said in a press release. “Each spool of Wound Up has the diameter and ovality metrics posted right on the box, so you know that tolerances are tight.”
The need to be green
The release comes at a prime time in the 3D printing industry, which is only continuing to grow. Now you can 3D print houses, cars, even engagement rings. Filaments are being released left and right, from stretchy nylon to edible sugars. What manufacturers and environmentalists have begun to realize is more 3D printing means more plastic waste.
With that in mind, many 3D printing filament manufacturers have begun experimenting with biodegradable filament made with biocomposites. As of now that consists mostly of wood, bamboo, or straw-based biocomposites.
“Right now what’s on the market is mostly wood,” said C2Renew co-founder Corey Kratcha. “We are the first to use rapidly renewable materials.”
As C2Renew and 3Dom USA continue to experiment with the different composites that will work in a 3D printer, the diversity of biodegradable filament continues to expand.
“This is the next innovation of additive marketing,” Kratcha said.
Photos courtesy of 3Dom USA.
