Baby Yodas and seven-foot-tall Groots are just some of the characters Wave of the Future 3D printing can create.
It uses regenerated recycled plastics, which Randy Janes says will provide a new use for waste.
“You can use it locally,” said the Wave of the Future 3D owner. “Communities can use the machine with their wasted plastic and build stuff for industry and for the community as well.”
The idea came after Janes built the world’s first 3D camper trailer with a large-scale printer.
Janes says he used what is known as pet-g plastic, which comes from recycled pop bottles, to build the trailer — a material he couldn’t purchase locally because no one would sell it to him. So, he looked to the U.S. He says the excessive cost to ship the plastic material from south of the border led to a search for alternatives.
“I started figuring out how I could take materials that were just readily available to me from a garbage dump or wherever.”
His team includes designer Lance Green and computer expert Dave Florizone.
Green says the technology offers affordable options for all kinds of creations.
“If we were to expand, this machine could print all the furniture, desks, tables, chairs, everything you need for a new facility,” said Green.
Janes says his goal is to see cities across Canada use his machine because it would benefit the environment.
“Everything from park benches to garbage cans to curbs to highway meridians we can actually develop a process with my extrusion system to build these things out of our wasted plastics,” added Janes.
“Stop recycling it and regenerate it into something new.”
Janes says the regeneration machine should be operational within the next two months.