3D printing company re:3D had been ideating on a portable shipping container that could turn recyclable material into useful goods – aligned to their pursuit of sustainability and circular solutions when the pandemic struck.
At the time, they were 3D printing PPE kits to help mitigate supply chain disruptions. When the company zoomed out at the whole picture, they realized the potential of an off-grid mobile factory stocked with all the paraphernalia needed for PPE production.
It could be located outside of hospitals or community centers, and relocate itself as needs and resources shifted.
Thus, Gigalab was born.
“It quickly became apparent that with a customizable footprint, a Gigalab could be used for PPE production, as a space for teaching manufacturing skills, or as a factory which recycles waste plastic into 3D printed objects,” Charlotte Craff, re:3D ambassador, tells IE.
The Gigalab, true to its makers’ vision, dons multiple hats.
It comprises the tools and the workspace to process particle waste, a granulator to grind up the plastic waste, a dryer to remove water particles from the plastic granules, and finally, Gigabot X 3D printers to print new and useful objects directly from those granules. To be precise, the portable facility could turn your trash into treasure. (Read more)
