Printed parts pass the test

IF you can print 3D plumbing parts in the middle of a cyclone, you can print them anywhere, according to Dr Mazher Mohammed, Senior Research Fellow with Deakin University’s School of Engineering.

Wild weather in the Solomon Islands earlier this year turned 3D “eco-printing” into “extreme printing” for Dr Mohammed and his team of researchers as they trialled unique technology that uses solar-powered printers to produce plumbing parts from recycled plastics.

“We found out the printers are incredibly waterproof and keep working when there’s no sun!” Dr Mohammed laughed.

The trip was the next stage of a project with aid agency Plan International to address a twofold need to manufacture on-the-spot parts for fixing leaks in the Solomon Islands’ ageing water infrastructure and help reduce the plastic waste that litters the waterways and fills the rubbish dumps of the islands.

During the 10-day trip to the capital Honiara and the village of Visale, Dr Mohammed and his team — engineering research assistant Dan Wilson did as well, so Dr Mohammed and the team found themselves designing and printing tap seals, too.

Dr Mohammed said it was an exercise in testing whatever plastic was at hand and discovering what worked best for different situations. Plastic from the ubiquitous e-waste worked for pipe connectors, while more flexible plastic from old jerry cans was best for tap seals.

Soft-drink crates turned out to have a second life as a filament for weaving baskets and bracelets and as a cord for whipper snippers.

As a trial run for the equipment and to discover how useful the project would be in reality, Dr Mohammed rated the trip as successful, but acknowledged it also demonstrated the enormous scope of the problem.

“It backed up our original plan to create a way for people in the villages to have this tool and use it to make what they need, when they need it,” he said.

“However, we need to keep working on how we make the system more affordable and more user-friendly, and how we train people to use and maintain it.”