andyn

warrior

04/12/2017 at 18:22

What are the beams to be used for? Are they structural? Be aware that they will not have the same physical properties as say, wood, so if you plan to use these in the same way you may have to make changes to the dimensions/design.

casb

starter

04/12/2017 at 22:23

Yess they will be used in a strucural way but they’ll have plenty of support so that’s not an issue. (I might make some adjustments in the dimensions after I have my first one depends on how they feel and act)

they will be placed side by side in length like a floor and supported by cross beams from probably wood depends on how strong the plastic beams can be.

I’m planning on doing a thorough test of the beams toughness anyway (if that’s the correct word) to really test their limits. In this way I want to look what other possibilities there are, and if they’re really fit for this kind of use

davehakkens

warrior

05/12/2017 at 17:42

haha sounds fun! Never tried it though , but if you build the extrusion proper (really decent with a solid motor that can run long) it should be doable.

casb

starter

05/12/2017 at 19:08

oke thanks for the reply Dave! and as a last question how long did it take you to make the beam in the instruction video (as a reference) and was the output from the machine at that time at it’s max?
Thanks on advance!

@davehakkens

jerzeek

warrior

06/12/2017 at 22:27

He @casb 🙂

200 beams are quite alottttt, maybe you could make a longer mold and cut it up afterwards. ( someone suggested that idea to me 😉 )

maybe also @suzanne can tell you some more, at PP den haag they have really seem to be doing some propper production.

Keep us updated!

suzanne

helper

06/12/2017 at 22:45

Hi @casb,

When do the beams need to be finished :3? Sounds tough, but do-able. If I were you, I would say yes, just for the hell of it :P. I think the hardest part will be to get shredder, extruder done before the end of this year (big thumps up you can make before that deadline!), to get enough recycled plastic for 200 beams and then creating the beams, which is sometimes trial and error.
We did 10 beams of approx. 1.2 meters in 3 days at the exhibitions, including: collecting, cleaning, sorting, shredding plastic and then melting it with the extruder (don’t forget talking with visitors) by 2 persons. It takes approx. 15 min to create 1 beam of 1.2 meter with the extruder. I double dare you to do better than us 🙂

If you have further questions, you can always contact us! And let us know the results,

Suzanne
Precious Plastic Den Haag

sharma-sagar

warrior

08/12/2017 at 10:39

@suzanne nice

casb

starter

10/12/2017 at 23:14

hey @jerzeek and @suzanne

jerry, What a brilliant person that must be!

suzanne, He sad that if I would be able to finish them around the end of January, It would be fine.
and I take the challenge! (i do hope I will get the machines done in time)

thanks for your reply!
Cas

baas

helper

20/12/2017 at 15:34

Hey Cas where do you live in holland? i live in the hague, if you need some help/advice for the shredder feel free to ask, i finished the shredder a while ago and it works well, didnt make an extrusion though.
cheerio, bas

dotcom22

starter

14/01/2018 at 11:02

Hello

I’m also interested to make beam of 120x5x3cm and I wondering if this could be done with Injection machine instead Extruder… By making the Injection machine more longer and fixed on to a wall, for this kind of beam size, that should be possible…

Any clues please ?
TY
Mirko

btmetz

warrior

01/02/2018 at 15:18

Hey Susan, Can you message me on FB?

Trying to get the plastic beams into production here in the Philippines.

https://www.facebook.com/bt.metz

Or if you have Viber,

my number there is +639254837824

or whattsapp

+63921830439

Thanks!

suzanne

helper

04/02/2018 at 17:21

Hi @dotcom22, I think it could be done too, especially when they are small beams. With the injector there can only be a small part heated. If you want bigger beams, I would advice a extruder. Would love to see your ideas.

@btmetz Just saw your message! Could you tag me next time 😀 will contact you on FB.

@casb what’s your update? Did you make it :D?

And for the statistic people, we did a tiny research:
On average you’ll need 1250 gram plastic for 1 L product (for example a beam of 25 x 25 x 1600mm).

We used a normal screw, no extrusion screw.

Good luck,
Suzanne
Precious Plastic Den Haag

casb

starter

04/02/2018 at 18:33

@baas thanks for the offer, yes I live in the Netherlands but I understand everything. The only problem is welding since I can’t do that by myself but I’ve found someone that’s happy to do it for me.

@suzanne I didn’t make it because i got sick during the first part of the holidays and I had a two week testweek right after the holidays so there goes another 3 weeks :)!! but now I’m working at it again and I only need to wire and paint the shredder. I already started collecting the materials for the extrusion and only need to get a motor and the industrial screw(which I’m getting right now:)

Cas

btmetz

warrior

07/02/2018 at 03:22

@suzanne So you are saying that you are only getting about 3kilos per hour from your machine?

btmetz

warrior

07/02/2018 at 04:03

according to my research, I am seeing 0.95kg of HDPE per litre.

https://www.aqua-calc.com/calculate/volume-to-weight

I guess the only real way to know is to test it.

In a related matter, to make my extrusions sellable, I will need them to be a uniform color.

I am researching and find that lampblack is commonly used at 7%. However I really need to lower costs and am looking at ball milled charcoal. Since charcoal locally is very cheap.

I however am unable to find the numbers for ball milled airfloat charcoal vs lampblack regarding particle size.

Has anyone experimented with pigments yet?