Robotic 3D Printing System Reuses Shredded Plastic Waste

A robotic 3D printing system developed by WASP combines direct plastic recycling with large-format additive manufacturing. The setup can process shredded thermoplastic waste without first converting it into new pellets. This allows manufacturers to reuse suitable production offcuts within their own facilities.

The system brings together WASP’s High-Definition Pellet (HDP) extrusion technology, the HDP XL Extruder and ABB’s PoWa collaborative robot. It also uses RIGENERA 3D, a system developed to recover plastic waste and return it directly to the printing process.

Direct Printing From Shredded Plastic

Unlike many pellet-based printing processes, RIGENERA 3D does not require shredded plastic to undergo repelletisation. Removing this intermediate stage may reduce the number of processing steps, machines and transport movements involved in recycling production waste.

The material is shredded before entering the HDP XL Extruder. The extruder then heats and deposits the plastic according to a digital design. This creates a more direct route from production waste to a new component or object. However, the plastic must remain compatible with the shredding, extrusion and printing equipment.

Robotic Additive Manufacturing

The HDP XL Extruder is mounted on ABB’s PoWa collaborative robot. Its increased payload capacity allows the robotic arm to carry the large extrusion system while retaining the collaborative characteristics of ABB’s cobot range.

The arm provides a broad range of movement and can deposit material across a larger working area than many fixed-frame 3D printers. This may support the production of prototypes, moulds, furniture, customised elements and other large-format products.

CEREBRO, WASP’s integration system, connects the robot and extruder. It coordinates their operation and translates digital designs into controlled robotic movements and material deposition.

A More Local Material Loop

By placing shredding, extrusion and printing within the same production environment, the system aims to create a closed internal workflow. Manufacturers can potentially retain more value from their plastic waste and reduce their reliance on external recycling processes.

The environmental performance of this approach depends on the plastic used, energy consumption, processing efficiency and the lifespan and recyclability of the printed product.

WASP will demonstrate the system at Recycle Tech Japan 2026, held from 30 September to 2 October at Makuhari Messe near Tokyo.

Source: WASP