This Machine Recycles Your 3D-Printed Mistakes

Plus, the ProtoCycler turns postconsumer water bottles and coffee lids into raw material.

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By Miranda Purves

November 4, 2016 at 11:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

This article is part of the November 7, 2016 issue of businessweek.

Form and function
The ProtoCycler is a desktop machine that can turn almost any postconsumer plastic, including water bottles and coffee cup lids, into raw material for a 3D printer. It can also recycle 3D-printed objects.

Innovators
Alex Kay and Dennon Oosterman
Ages 23 and 25
Co-founders of six-person startup ReDeTec in Toronto

Recycling
The machine grinds and melts plastics, then extrudes the goo into a malleable filament at a rate of about 10 feet a minute. Users can add dyes to recolor the molten plastic.