14 DAY TRIAL // 3D printing technology can do a lot of things, but like any invention by man, it has certain issues that need to be addressed from time to time. Leftover filament is the most harmless but also the most common one.
Since plastic waste is a big no-no, there already have been some attempts to make sure recycling is easy. Machines that can turn plastic bottles into filament come to mind.
Instructables contributor Lily Jackson decided to do something less dependent on an auxiliary device, however, so she came up with a way to turn leftover filament into jewelry.
Her creations aren't the sort of thing you'd be expected to wear in public during usual school or work days, but they could be decent additions to a costume.
The leftover filament jewelry
Jackson goes by the name “MITinventorbot” on Instructables and has only released a sort of starting point for the idea of a filament jewelry line.
With some effort and creativity, the jewelry will start to look better, but for now there are only some very crude designs available.
That's the whole point of Instructables though: to walk you through a process after which you can retrace your steps and make changes as needed.
We'll be interested in seeing if any jewelry artists pick up the idea and run with it. Given how creative and steady-handed such people are, we might see some real wonders.
Not that we actually expect a new market to rise from this. We just find it more likely that people will feel more comfortable with recycling the filament into new filament than working in these limitations. Then again, some might appreciate the challenge.
It's not just filament
While leftover filament is the core of this new idea, the jewelry examples use other metal scraps as well, even separately-acquired metal bracelets.
In the end, it all boils down to how one can combine scraps with other things lying around and make something good-looking, or at least uncanny enough that the ugliness is a distant second concern.
