Procedure to increase the usage of Post-Consumer Recycled plastic in large format printers

Abstract

The study object of the present project is a large format printer that is being produced by a company leader in the sector. The author has done the project and its internship in the R&D part of the company, concretely in the Stewardship team. The objective of the project is to research the possibility of increasing the content of Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) plastic in large format printers in order to push the use of it by the R&D mechanical engineers. This idea arose due to the good will of the Stewardship team to satisfy an optional eco-mark requirement. The author joined such team with the wish of leading a project and an idea in the imaging equipment business. First of all, it is given an introduction to the theme of circular economy, recycling and an overview of the different plastics used currently. Then, it is explained the situation of the company in this theme nowadays and its future prospects. After, the project proposes a procedure to increase the usage of PCR in large format printers qualifying the plastic virgin parts as R (they can be replaced by a PCR plastic directly), MR (the parts need to overcome some tests) and NR (the parts cannot be replaced). Subsequently, the tests of the MR parts have been described. And finally, the procedure has been applied to a particular large format printer.