<p>I would like to recycle all the leftovers from supports and from failed prints in PLA.
I don't necessarily need to re-extrude new filament from it, so I was wondering if I could maybe perform some molding, but in a safe setup?</p>
<p>Which material should be used for the mold?
How to proceed with the melting of the PLA? In which anti-fouling container shall I melt it to be able to clean it afterward?</p>
<p>Here I'm trying to avoid ruining my kitchen pans ;)</p>
<p>I guess it must have been tried already, in a nonprofessional setup, right?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-30T22:20:47.873Z
I'm not sure that PLA is suitable for injection-molding?
Criggie
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-11-30T23:54:36.873Z
It's a thermoplast.  I don't see any reason why you can't do injection molding... it's just a matter of keeping it hot and applying pressure until the mold is full.
user10489
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-01T17:40:20.227Z
I'm looking for an easy, newbie-friendly setup that you can deploy in a garage. I'm pretty confident there are professional ways to do it. But I guess you were replying to Criggie...
Myoch
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-24T18:59:56.497Z
As far as I know, injection molding of plastic isn't something that can be done in a non professional setup - mostly because of the high pressure, strict temperature control and complexities of making metallic molds (molds should foresee paths for the molten plastic to get inside and for the excess plastic to get out). This is one of main reasons that 3D printing relies on different approaches than mold injection. There are some instructables about melting plastic (milk jugs) in some kind of machineable bricks, or something like a mallet, but I think that there are no many options beyond those
mguima
<pla>
Are there dedicated setups to perform injection molding from PLA filament leftovers?
Myoch
# Are there dedicated setups to perform injection molding from PLA filament leftovers?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-11-30)

I would like to recycle all the leftovers from supports and from failed prints in PLA.
I don't necessarily need to re-extrude new filament from it, so I was wondering if I could maybe perform some molding, but in a safe setup?

Which material should be used for the mold?
How to proceed with the melting of the PLA? In which anti-fouling container shall I melt it to be able to clean it afterward?

Here I'm trying to avoid ruining my kitchen pans ;)

I guess it must have been tried already, in a nonprofessional setup, right?

**Tags:** pla
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I'm not sure that PLA is suitable for injection-molding?  
> **username_2**: It's a thermoplast.  I don't see any reason why you can't do injection molding... it's just a matter of keeping it hot and applying pressure until the mold is full.  
> **username_0**: I'm looking for an easy, newbie-friendly setup that you can deploy in a garage. I'm pretty confident there are professional ways to do it. But I guess you were replying to Criggie...  
> **username_3**: As far as I know, injection molding of plastic isn't something that can be done in a non professional setup - mostly because of the high pressure, strict temperature control and complexities of making metallic molds (molds should foresee paths for the molten plastic to get inside and for the excess plastic to get out). This is one of main reasons that 3D printing relies on different approaches than mold injection. There are some instructables about melting plastic (milk jugs) in some kind of machineable bricks, or something like a mallet, but I think that there are no many options beyond those  

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## 0 answers

