Social Plast

Was es macht

The UHPC moulds are many times cheaper and more energy-efficient than the alternative steel moulds. A production of 500+ plastic parts is possible with the moulds made of UHPC concrete and the moulds themselves can be easily recycled after use.

Deine Inspiration

During a project with a person from the Kankuma Refugee Camp in Kenya (2021), we encountered the following problem: The recycling workshop has no money for expensive injection moulding tools, but has a high demand for different products in small quantities. The low-tech version of the UHPC moulds can be produced locally for just a few euros, making it easier to recycle plastic waste.

So funktioniert es

In plastics processing, injection moulding tools are the shaping elements into which the molten plastic is injected and, after hardening, the desired product is created. In contrast to injection moulding tools made of steel, UHPC tools are manufactured using an additive process. The positive is printed with a high-quality 3D printer, then the 3D print is moulded with the modified UHPC concrete. After hardening, the 3D print can be removed and used in the UHPC mould in production. At the end of the service life of the concrete mould, it is simply recycled.

Designprozess

The basic concept of the idea has essentially not changed since the start of development, but every single process has been optimised. Many factors in the process chain influence the end result, which is why the construction sites were varied. The initial low-tech approach was as cost-effective and simple as possible:FDM printer for the positive, a UHPC pre-mix and necessary post-processing of the plastic products. Later on, a thermoforming process was used to improve the surface quality. This modification was used to create a furniture collection in Senegal, Dakar, which was produced using recycled plastic connectors from the UHPC moulds. A variant for industrial injection moulding machines is currently being developed in cooperation with the tool manufacturer Toolcraft, in which high-quality 3D printing and UHPC concrete are used.

Warum es anders ist

The special thing about UHPC moulds is that they have an unbeatable balance in relation to the production costs. Alternative inserts from the 3D printer (SLA) can only withstand small quantities, are very susceptible to high-temperature plastics and cannot be recycled. UHPC moulds are particularly worthwhile for large-volume components. For recycling, the UHPC moulds are ground up and added to the new mixture in a certain proportion.

Pläne für die Zukunft

Toolcraft is a great co-operation partner with whom the technology is being used as part of a pilot project. For a mountain bike event in October24 , we are producing 400 mudguards for bicycles as a giveaway, which are made from the recycled track barriers from the previous year. My aim is to use the technology to set up my own company in 2025 called:Social Plast. The aim is to use the technology for impact-orientated projects in a global context to make the recycling of plastic waste more efficient. A recycled monobloc chair produced in the Global South is the big project goal for 2026.

Auszeichnungen

Hessen Ideen Wettbewerb – Social Entrepreneurship (2022) Winner Hessen Ideen Stipendium (2024)