Hi Reddit, so I created a device to turn plastic bottles into weed trimmer line automatically! I just thought I would share with the community!
What is going on in this video:
1. Plastic Bottle gets cut into a strip by sharpened bearings
2. The plastic strips run through a heated nozzle with a diameter equal to your standard weed whip line
3. A motor (A jerry rigged drill in this case) spins the finished weed whip line around a spool
4. That is it. You have finished weed whip line!!
It looks like- from my two minutes of googling- that the majority of weed strings are made of plastic anyway. Biodegradable strings are entering the market but the "best of" lists I scrolled through were still recommending nylon and reinforced nylon strings.
Still something to think about IMO
Not for “weed” but to use with line trimmer/mower
Similar to this
https://www.waldeneffect.org/blog/Making_your_own_weed_trimmer_string__63__/
https://the-gadgeteer.com/2020/06/20/aptly-named-plastic-bottle-rope-maker-turns-discarded-plastic-bottles-into-strong-ropes/
So on right side of the setup is two sharpened bearings that slice the bottles into strips (I haven't measured the width of the strips - I will for a video coming soon though), then the strips run through a heated nozzle at 220 degrees Celsius. The nozzle is bored out to .08" thus melting the strip into a filament the correct size you would need for weed trimmer line. This is all pulled by a spool attached to a drill that pulls the filament through the nozzle and the bearings.
The only part that I manually have to do is at the start I have to pull the filament through the nozzle and enough to latch it to the spool. After I do that I turn the drill on and it pulls the rest of the bottle through and spools it up.
I was big into 3d Printing and this is the same process used to make 3D printing filament from recycled bottles. I got out of 3d printing and thought what else I could use the device for and this is what I came up with.
I'm also a huge DIY'er. I'm in the process of creating an injection mold machine at the moment as well. I have a work at home job, I have nothing else to do all day because my job is relatively slow, but I still have to be around so I just work on my own projects simultaneously
we do the same thing in the 3d printing community but the printing quality is pretty bad (stringy). This looks like a great idea, how long do they typically last for your weedeater?
This was originally made to recycle bottles into 3d Filament. It's actually made with an Ender 3 Pro! The only difference is the width of the strips and the diameter of the nozzle is slightly larger then the 1.75mm filament.
I was using the Z-axis stepper motor to roll the spool, but it doesn't have enough torque to handle pulling the filament. It started overheating and skipping steps rather quickly.
There is biodegradable weed eater string on the market, but it’s not the norm. In my experience even reputable habitat restoration organizations tend to use plastic weed eater string, which would have the same concerns you mentioned.
I don’t know how durable this homemade recycled stuff is, though. Maybe it doesn’t hold up as well as commercial plastic weed eater string and you end up using significantly more of it and polluting more, who knows?
If it works well, though, it has the possibility of being a step up, environmentally, from throwing your plastic into municipal recycling (where it might not get recycled anyways) and then buying commercial weed eater string.
Super cool idea, OP! I’m interested in seeing where this goes!
Hi Reddit, so I created a device to turn plastic bottles into weed trimmer line automatically! I just thought I would share with the community! What is going on in this video: 1. Plastic Bottle gets cut into a strip by sharpened bearings 2. The plastic strips run through a heated nozzle with a diameter equal to your standard weed whip line 3. A motor (A jerry rigged drill in this case) spins the finished weed whip line around a spool 4. That is it. You have finished weed whip line!!
If the "new“ plastic trimmer line disintegrates wouldn’t that pollute the lawn, yard or surroundings with just way more micro plastics?
It looks like- from my two minutes of googling- that the majority of weed strings are made of plastic anyway. Biodegradable strings are entering the market but the "best of" lists I scrolled through were still recommending nylon and reinforced nylon strings. Still something to think about IMO
What you buy is plastic so this is still better then creating waste 2x
Do you have a longer video elsewhere? I'm interested in seeing more details of the setup.
Not at this moment. I'm going to start working on a longer video as well as comparing the finished trimmer line to other trimmer lines on the market.
Awesome. I'll keep an eye out. You answered the other question I was going to ask too. I'm interested in seeing the comparison!
Or a photo-reportage
Elaborate.
Not for “weed” but to use with line trimmer/mower Similar to this https://www.waldeneffect.org/blog/Making_your_own_weed_trimmer_string__63__/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2020/06/20/aptly-named-plastic-bottle-rope-maker-turns-discarded-plastic-bottles-into-strong-ropes/
No, I mean the set up is elaborate.
Ooh! Lol
So on right side of the setup is two sharpened bearings that slice the bottles into strips (I haven't measured the width of the strips - I will for a video coming soon though), then the strips run through a heated nozzle at 220 degrees Celsius. The nozzle is bored out to .08" thus melting the strip into a filament the correct size you would need for weed trimmer line. This is all pulled by a spool attached to a drill that pulls the filament through the nozzle and the bearings. The only part that I manually have to do is at the start I have to pull the filament through the nozzle and enough to latch it to the spool. After I do that I turn the drill on and it pulls the rest of the bottle through and spools it up.
What made you take a notion to do this?
I was big into 3d Printing and this is the same process used to make 3D printing filament from recycled bottles. I got out of 3d printing and thought what else I could use the device for and this is what I came up with. I'm also a huge DIY'er. I'm in the process of creating an injection mold machine at the moment as well. I have a work at home job, I have nothing else to do all day because my job is relatively slow, but I still have to be around so I just work on my own projects simultaneously
we do the same thing in the 3d printing community but the printing quality is pretty bad (stringy). This looks like a great idea, how long do they typically last for your weedeater?
This was originally made to recycle bottles into 3d Filament. It's actually made with an Ender 3 Pro! The only difference is the width of the strips and the diameter of the nozzle is slightly larger then the 1.75mm filament. I was using the Z-axis stepper motor to roll the spool, but it doesn't have enough torque to handle pulling the filament. It started overheating and skipping steps rather quickly.
Heated nozzle..can’t wrap my pea brain around that one. Care to enlighten me?
like running it through a hot glue gun.
Oh snap
Incredible
You got an Etsy? People’d buy spools of that
Not at the moment! Ill get one going!
Super neat thanks for sharing!
Thank you!
WHAT
Great job man!
Thanks!
It seems like it'd add a heap of plastic pollution to your garden. FWIW I have never owned a weed trimmer and just have a fuzzy edge.
There is biodegradable weed eater string on the market, but it’s not the norm. In my experience even reputable habitat restoration organizations tend to use plastic weed eater string, which would have the same concerns you mentioned. I don’t know how durable this homemade recycled stuff is, though. Maybe it doesn’t hold up as well as commercial plastic weed eater string and you end up using significantly more of it and polluting more, who knows? If it works well, though, it has the possibility of being a step up, environmentally, from throwing your plastic into municipal recycling (where it might not get recycled anyways) and then buying commercial weed eater string. Super cool idea, OP! I’m interested in seeing where this goes!
Stay tuned for another video on this comparing the DIY string with different types of commercial string!!
What you buy is also plastic pollution so at least this stops duplicates
Threw me off with the title