By Sidhartha Mohapatra

Rourkela (Odisha), Aug. 11: Researchers at the National Institute of Technology Rourkela (NIT Rourkela) have secured a patent for a low-cost, portable extruder system that can produce composite filaments for 3D printing using recycled plastics.

The innovation is aimed at reducing dependence on virgin plastic and converting plastic waste into value-added products. Developed at a cost of around Rs 45,000, the system comprises an extruder, a controlled cooling mechanism and PID temperature controllers, among other components, allowing precise control over the filament production process.

Three-dimensional printing is finding growing applications in biomedical and engineering fields, ranging from scaffolds and anatomical models to decorative items, brackets, drone components and toys. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), one of the most widely used 3D-printing technologies, involves melting thermoplastic filament and depositing it layer by layer to produce an object.

However, commercially available thermoplastic filaments can be costly, while inferior-quality filaments may affect print quality and dimensional accuracy. Researchers across the world have been exploring recycled plastics as a more economical and sustainable alternative, but their wider adoption has been limited by processing costs, material wastage, inadequate mechanical strength and durability concerns.

The NIT Rourkela team has attempted to overcome these limitations through its filament extrusion system, which can blend plastic particles with reinforcement materials to manufacture filaments with enhanced strength and durability.

“The developed filament extrusion system represents an advancement in filament production technology, offering compelling technical and commercial benefits for the 3D printing industry. The composite filament produced through the developed extruder can be used for 3D printing of parts with improved mechanical properties desired for a wide range of applications. Further, the use of recycled plastic in making filament will offer substantial environmental benefits,” said Prof. Sandhyarani Biswas, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, NIT Rourkela.

According to the researchers, laboratory-scale tests found that the filaments produced by the system demonstrated satisfactory mechanical properties and the required dimensional accuracy.

Prof. Sujit Sen, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, said the technology could process different types of plastic waste into usable 3D-printer filament, paving the way for a sustainable closed-loop model based on recycling, reuse and remanufacturing.

The research team comprises Prof. Sandhyarani Biswas, Prof. Sujit Sen, Jagdish Uday Khatu, Himanshu Singh and Kiran Suna. The patent application for the extrusion system was filed under Application No. 202431068691 on July 30, 2026.

The composite filaments produced through the system could be used for applications requiring greater strength and durability, while also helping make 3D printing more sustainable.

Photograph: Turning plastic waste into possibilities: NIT Rourkela researchers with their patented 3D-printing filament extrusion system.