3Dom's Wound Up 3D Printing Filament Recycles Coffee Grounds

The rise of 3D printing has brought many advantages to the industry and to the world, chief among which is the democratization and increased accessibility of printing processes and products. One of the unsung benefits, however, is the potential to look for and use materials to replace toxic, fossil-burning plastic. Heading to the forefront of this mission, 3Dom, one of the USA's biggest 3D printing filament manufacturers, teamed up with bio-composite company c2renew to cook up all kinds of alternative filament material, first among which is made from coffee grounds.

Sorry to disapoint, but this is hardly the holy union of two things sacred to geeks: coffee and 3D printing. Well, it almost is, but if you were expecting caffeine-infused 3D printouts, you'd be sorely disappointed. The filament, which is called "Wound Up", does take its origin from coffee but uses leftover coffee grounds. This results in a peculiar filament that has its own individualistic color and texture, which might not be to everyone's taste. Figuratively speaking, of course. Then again, it could be an advertised design feature of resulting printed products.

These filaments aren't experimental as they are actually being sold by 3Dom like any other 3D printer filament. It comes in standard 1.75 mm and 2.85 mm sizes that can be used on regular 3D printers. Even the spools they come in are eco-friendly, made of 100% bio-based material and vacuum sealed to keep out moisture.

The coffee-based Wound Up is just the opening salve to 3Dom's and c2renew's almost playful but serious search for alternative materials. Other possible materials include wood flour, hemp, and sunflower. It will be interesting to see the kind of texture, color, and substance these sources might yield.

VIA: 3D Printing Industry