Materiom is an online initiative that has been growing an online open source database of bio-based material recipes over the last couple of years. A new category of recipes to be found on this website is the category of bio-based 3D printable materials. The first 3D printable material recipe to emerge in the database was developed at the TU Delft. Since then the recipe was further developed into an alginate mussel shell composite. It was time for the next step: How can more of these kinds of materials be developed? Are there any ‘universal truths’ to be found in developing these materials and how can makers/designers be guided in this process? To tackle this problem a multileveled analysis was performed. A literature review of 3D printing with bio-based materials showed that in different fields of expertise, ranging from the medical field to the field of food, the first steps had been made into printing with bio-based materials. Printing experiments were then performed with a selection of binder materials mentioned in these papers. With iota-Carrageenan and kappa-Carrageenan in combination with different kinds of fillers such as rice starch and ground cacao shell, succesfull prints were made. Furthermore, interesting hand-printing results were obtained with chitosan and alginate. More importantly, however, an indicative range of material ratios was found that could help future material developers save time in their search. Finally, some basic guidelines for the printer set-up regarding nozzle size, print head speed and extrusion speed were formulated based on the findings in the experiments. These results led, together with the insights gained from analyzing makerspaces, cookbooks and the Materiom website, to a design proposal for an online material development tool. Currently the Materiom website provides ready-made recipes. As noticed during the analysis phase, however, not every experiment leads to a complete recipe. Also, based on the experience of a material developer, complete recipes are not always what is needed. Recipes can be inflexible and hinder experimentation and innovation. The material development tool provides therefore room for data on different levels. This means that the community can share a larger amount of data and it leaves room for more experimentation and innovation. This idea is brought in practice by dividing data into three different parts: Material information, material compatibility information and complete recipes. Together with a formulaic recipe that gives a starting point for experimentation and printer set-up guidelines, material developers have a range of tools that they can use according to their needs and likings for new material development. And when the experiments have been carried out, the data can be shared with community even when the results were not satisfying and thus saving time of their successors.

Previous research proved the potential of using mussel shell waste as additive manufacturing (AM) material. In this thesis, mussel shell powder was combined with sodium alginate, since it allows reversible cross-linking. Due to reversible cross-linking, this water-soluble and recyclable material can temporarily be made water-resistant, so it can be used for applications that need to be water-resistant. In this thesis, this material was researched, improved, and eventually used to print a prototype of a parametrically designed plant-specific planter.

This master thesis is the result of a graduation project for the Master Integrated Product Design at the TU Delft. The project was formulated as a continuation on research done by Mariet Sauerwein and Zjenja Doubrovski, in which they proved the potential of mussel shells as a material for material extrusion 3D printing. This with the aim of creation of a locally available material from a current waste stream, exploiting the possibilities of local manufacturing with 3D printing, as this has the potential to contribute to a circular economy.
This project was meant to continue the search for a material made from mussel shells that was printable and recyclable, and find possible applications.
Based on the literature and initial tests was concluded that an additional ingredient was required besides ground mussel shells and water, to create the right viscosity. Research was done into suitable binder materials. Four potential materials were chosen with a weighted criteria method. These materials were sugar, potato starch, iota-carrageenan and NEO-alginate. These four were tested on their effect on the printability and recyclability of the material. Both sugar and NEO-alginate were chosen to continue with as they both had proven to be the best suitable binding agents according to a set of defined criteria.
Relevant technical characteristics of both material combinations were defined by material tests. As the material is developed in this project, there is a certain amount of control over its characteristics by varying certain parameters in the process; Because of this not only the characteristics themselves but also the effect of process parameters was defined. The experiential characteristics, i.e. how the material is perceived, were defined by user tests.
Based on found characteristics a Material Experience Vision was defined. This Vision was meant to give direction and provide guidance through to the ideation process. The Vision is defined as
“I want to create an application in which the material has clear benefits over other suitable materials and fits within a system compliant with the principles of a circular economy. This application will comprise physical interaction with the user, to evoke found positive surprise due to the materials characteristics that differ from materials the user initially associated developed material with.”
With this Vision as guidance three product applications were found through the ideation process. From these three the concept Circular Lighting was elaborated on; in this concept the material was used to create lamp shades in a ‘light as a service’ system. This system was meant for circular built tourist residences. The manufacturer keeps ownership of the light system. Repair and replacement is outsourced to local parties, who would collect the material of the lamps and use it to print new lamps, creating local material loops. A prototype is made of a possible lamp design to validate and showcase the possibilities with developed material.¬

Repair was once a common act. With increased product diversity and complexity, a scarcity and obsolescence of spare parts is making repair increasingly difficult and economically unviable. The result is an accelerated turnover of manufactured goods, which are more often replaced than repaired. As products are discarded, embedded materials and energy are wasted.
Alternatively, in a proposed Circular Economy, repair is one of the most efficient strategies of product recovery, retaining as much of the manufactured product as possible whilst restoring its functionality. This makes repair a very effective strategy for sustainability, reducing energy and material waste through product life extension.
An opportunity to revive the habit of repair was found in using 3D printing to produce spare parts for the repair job. This project was initiated to explore the application of 3D printing in this manner, to gain insights and exploring the possibilities with currently available means.
The rise of digital manufacturing and 3D printing accessible to consumers has spawned the ‘Maker Movement’; people making their own physical objects, in a DIY ethic. By enabling ‘Makers’ to create their own spare parts, using 3D printing, a first step in the revival of repair is set.
All three aspects of human, technology and business are incorporated in this project, together leading to a viable strategy for sustainability through design. By incorporating Makers in the role of the repairer and introducing 3D modelling and printing technologies, Repair using 3D printing is found to be a viable concept.
Through an iterative process of practical case study experiments, a complete process of reproducing a viable substitute from an original part is developed. Various repair attempts on actual case subjects are done to explore several methods and options, gaining insights in the parameters and boundary conditions of repair using 3D printing. Resulting from this, a series of written guides and supportive tools are designed and published on popular online Maker platforms. The entire process is covered in the project poster, which includes QR-code links to the tools and guides.
The reproduction process covers three main obstacles: setting requirements for the new part, creating a 3D model and 3D printing it. The major challenge in this project was to enable inexperienced users to do so, using only common materials and equipment. The resulting process involves the decomposition of the original part to set requirements, after which it is measured and CAD modelled, or 3D scanned. For the latter, a 3D printable rotating platform is designed, that supports a photogrammetry-based 3D scanning procedure. Furthermore, two questionnaire-like tools are developed to advise users in the critical decisions of which 3D modelling strategy to apply in the particular case, and what material to 3D print it in.
The repair using 3D printing principle is successfully applied to several case studies, resulting in insights and guidelines for future application. A first step in a widespread adoption of this concept is set by providing Makers with a set of guides and tools to reproduce spare parts on their own. The project concludes with the publication of the developed guides and tools. The thesis overviews the process and outcomes and concludes with recommendations for further development.

The assignment for this project is to design a presentation for Océ wide format printing to connect the Customer Experience Center(CEC) and to achieve a marketing effect.