Re-use of injection moulding waste for Additive Manufacturing Rheon (Re- Rheon 3D)

Re-Rheon 3D旨在解决注塑成型过程中产生的聚合物废料的再利用和升级再利用，同时创造世界上第一个用于3D打印的应变率敏感材料。这是Rheon实验室有限公司和卓越增材制造中心之间的一项合作计划，将专注于开发可3d打印Rheon的循环工艺。RHEON（tm）技术的核心是一种反应性聚合物，当受到外力时，它会智能地增强。该技术可以控制任何振幅和频率的能量，从微小的振动到危及生命的单次撞击。因此，Rheon零件的主要用途是在头盔和其他救生应用。我们的零件是使用传统的注射成型制造的，因此在生产过程中会产生聚合物废物。虽然注射成型是批量生产简单几何形状的首选方法，但我们目前无法在英国的生产设施中重复使用注射成型废料和浇口。因此，我们不能为一些客户制造复杂和轻量级的几何形状。目前，由于用于生产零件的模具或不符合规格的零件，我们大约5%的材料最终在注塑过程中成为废物。这占每年2500公斤和约3万英镑，预计到2022年将增长到6250公斤和7.5万英镑。因此，至关重要的是开发一种工艺，将这种材料废物重新纳入有用的最终用户部件，创造环境和经济效益。此外，我们目前面临着客户对轻量化零件的复杂几何形状的要求，特别是在头盔行业，我们无法通过注塑来满足。该项目旨在一方面解决我们制造设施中产生的Rheon废物的再利用问题，另一方面使我们能够满足客户对定制轻质结构和先进几何形状的要求。

Re-Rheon 3D aims to address the reuse and upcycling of polymer waste generated during injection moulding, while creating the world's first strain-rate sensitive material for 3d printing. This is a collaborative initiative between Rheon Labs Ltd and the Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence and will focus on the development of a circular process for 3d printable Rheon. At the core of RHEON(tm) technology is a reactive polymer that intelligently strengthens when subjected to force. The technology can control energy of any amplitude or frequency - from small vibrations to life-threatening single impacts. Thus, the main use of Rheon parts is in helmets and other life-saving applications. Our parts are manufactured using traditional injection moulding, and thus create polymer waste in the process. While injection moulding is the method of choice for mass manufacturing simple geometries, we currently cannot reuse injection moulding waste and sprues in our production facilities in the UK. Thus, we cannot manufacture some of the customers complex and lightweight geometries. Currently about 5% of our material ends up as waste in the injection moulding process, due to sprues used for production parts, or parts that don't comply with the specs. This accounts for 2500 Kg and about £30,000 per year, and is predicted to grow to 6250 Kg and £75,000 in 2022\. Thus, it is crucial to develop a process to re-incorporate this material waste into useful end-user parts, creating an environmental and economic benefit. In addition, we currently face customer requirements around lightweight parts with complex geometries, especially in the helmet industry, which we cannot meet using injection moulding. This project aims to address on the one hand the reuse of Rheon waste created in our manufacturing facilities, and on the other hand enable us to meet customer requirements for bespoke lightweight structures and advanced geometries.