3D Systems
EKOCYCLE CUBE
Cube's latest printer prints with recycled plastic Coke bottles
It is rare, particularly in this industry, for the appointment of a new C-level executive to garner as much attention as 3D Systems' new Chief Creative Officer did at International CES 2014. The reason the press went into overdrive for the 3D printing pioneer’s new CCO was the fact that said CCO was one of the world’s most internationally renowned pop-stars, will.i.am.
The fruits of this appointment are well and truly ripening as 3D Systems launches the first product designed in partnership with the Black Eyed Peas supremo, the EKOCYCLE Cube.
This isn’t a vanity project by will.i.am, not a Posh Spice Range Rover or a Kim Kardashian pair of sneakers, this is a passion project from a man bordering on obsessive with technology and its powers to change the world for the better.
The EKOCYCLE Cube is produced in partnership with another of will.i.am’s passion projects, which in turn is in collaboration with the world’s most known brand Coca-Cola. The EKOCYCLE project, fronted and by will.iam, is intended to repurpose post-consumer goods into fashionable and valuable lifestyle products.
EKOCYCLE’s ethos is “Let’s make more with what we have” and the new Cube EKOCYCLE certainly fits that motif...
The EKOCYCLE version of 3D System’s latest desktop consumer printer, the Cube 3, is a special edition that uses recycled plastic filament generated from discarded plastic bottles of Coke (or any other drink that uses PET bottles) and turns that into your latest prototype, piece of jewellery, spare part or whatever else you’d like to print.
The EKOCYCLE filament cartridge consists of 25% post-consumer recycled materials, each cartridge contains an average of three standard 20oz Coke bottles. Even further sustainability is added through Cubify’s unique Cartridge Recycling programme in which the user can return empty cartridges for reuse and receive a $5 discount on their next cartridge.
We are still awaiting the specs of the EKOCYCLE printer but imagine it will have similar if not the same specs as the Cube 3, including 75 micron layer resolution and Cubify wireless support.
This collaboration with Coke’s EKOCYCLE initiative is quite the coup for 3D Systems and shows a real vision by the CCO to invest his time and creativity into the benefits of 3D printing. It looks like the appointment of will.i.am as 3D System’s CCO might be quite canny after all…
