PETmachine+
User guide
&
Troubleshooting
About the author
Igor Tylman was born on 12.04.1996 in Poland. Growing up in his home country, Igor
chose the Automatic Control and Robotics department at Bialystok University of
Technology when he was old enough to start university. This was a study that
matched the interests he had since childhood. Even as a little kid, he wanted to
disassemble everything he found, wondering what was going on inside.
Igor was designing martian rovers with the science club during his college years. His
“Argo” team won many prizes and scholarships. He was also involved in work with a
biomedical science club at the university called “Orthos” aimed at finding solutions
that help people with labyrinth disease.
The first seeds of the PetMachine idea were planted when he was in his last years of
university, when he wanted to make jewelry from recycled plastic. Igor started
physically building this machine first and then wrote an article about it. Thanks to this
article, Igor was invited to speak at a conference in Tokyo in 2020.
Igor is currently working to develop his own designing company, saying that he
strives to use all of his experience and creativity to assist people in having the most
enjoyable designs that can be created at home.
1. Introduction 5
STEP 1 Tools & equipment needed 6
2. Smoothing the surface of the bottle wall 8
STEP 1 Preparation 9
STEP 2 Smoothing the bottle using boiled water 10
3. Cutting the bottle - creating plastic string 12
STEP 1 Preparation 13
STEP 2.1 Cut-Man (manual cutter) 14
STEP 2.2 Cutting module (automatic cutter) 15
4. Creating the filament! 17
5. Filament runout sensor 22
6. Guiding_roller V2 (experimental) 24
7. Electric terminal - help with filament pulling 26
8. Slicer settings & recommended 3D printer setup 29
FAQ 31
1. Filament is coming out scratched. 31
2. What’s the power consumption? 31
3. My REX C100 is counting temperature down. 31
4. Strip is breaking all the time when cutting 31
5. What if I don't have a JST XH 2.54mm fan connector? 31
6. Electric motor is working with maximum power regardless of using the potentiometer
of the PWM motor controller . 31
7. Filament is clogging when trying to print. What can I do? 31
8. My filament has a lot of strings when printing. (Dry the filament) 31
9. Temperature is fluctuating. (PID autotune) 32
10. Filament is hollow. Did I make something wrong? 32
1. Introduction
[Link]
STEP 1 Tools & equipment needed
ℹ First tries are the hardest ones, don’t give up when your plastic string is breaking
after a few cm of pulling, your filament breaks during extruding or printing with bottle
filament just doesn’t work yet. Later you will be a master of using the PETmachine®!
I guarantee you!
Tools:
● Screwdriver:
○ Small flat (doesn’t have to be electrical like in the picture):
● long-nose pliers (universal crimper):
● Caliper (to check a plastic bottle wall thickness):
[Link]
● Hobby knife:
● Scissors:
● 11mm wrench:
● Cutting pliers:
[Link]
● Electric drill & 10mm drill:
Equipment:
● Electric terminal (included in the PETmachine® kit):
● TR525 tire valve (included in the PETmachine® kit) :
[Link]
● Hand pump / compressor (it’s good to have bar/PSI scale):
● Protection glasses:
● Acetone and paper towel (removing label’s glue):
2. Smoothing the surface of the bottle wall
2. Smoothing the surface of the bottle wall
STEP 1 Preparation
ℹ Instead of pumping the bottle and spilling the boiled water on it, you can pour a little
bit of water into the bottle, close it and heat it very carefully above the source of heat
(stove, hot gun), water inside will evaporate and increase the pressure. The method I
will show you here is in my opinion the fastest, easiest and safest one.
ℹ You can ask a question “Why should we do it?”. It helps immeasurable to cut the
bottle easily and fast on the entire length. It makes thick bottle walls a little bit thinner
as walls, which helps in later processing.
⚠ Always use protective glasses when pumping/heating the bottle! There is always
a risk that bottle can explode if will be overpressured!
● Drill a 10mm hole in your bottle cap and install the TR525 tire valve. Do it
firmly!
● Tighten the plastic cap on the bottle.
● Use a hand pump / compressor to pump the bottle. I pumped mine to 3 bars =
43 PSI (Sparkling water bottle).
ℹSoda bottles (sparkling) have thicker walls and can be pumped more. Thinner are
the bottle walls lower is the pressure!
2. Smoothing the surface of the bottle wall
STEP 2 Smoothing the bottle using boiled water
● Mount pumped bottle into drill chuck, valve fits nice there.
● Rotate the bottle using a drill and spill the boiled water at the same time.
⚠ Pour out the water evenly on the entire length of the bottle, but focusing on the
most not straight parts.
ℹ Around 100-150ml will be enough for 1,5L bottle. You can collect spilled water by
placing the dish underneath and use it again for the next bottles (after boiling).
2. Smoothing the surface of the bottle wall
⚠ Cooldown the bottle and using acetone and paper towel (on the still pressurized
bottle) remove glue after labels from the bottle.
● On the left you can see the bottle before the smoothing process and on the
right after.
3. Cutting the bottle - creating plastic string
3. Cutting the bottle - creating plastic string
ℹ There are 2 ways to cut the bottle. One way is manual, using the power of your
hands and Cut-Man design. 2’nd method allows you to use the PETmachine® itself
to do this for you. I like both methods, none of them is worse or better, the choice is
yours!
STEP 1 Preparation
ℹ Preparation for the both methods is the same.
ℹ It’s easier to make it when bottle is closed so walls won’t fall inside.
● Using a paper towel and acetone remove label glue from the bottle.
● Using a hobby knife, remove the bottom of the bottle. Then align the edges
using scissors (a really important step).
● Using scissors cut 10cm long a really narrow strip with even more narrow end.
3. Cutting the bottle - creating plastic string
STEP 2.1 Cut-Man (manual cutter)
ℹ Cut-Man has 6 channels, every channel cut your future string to particular width.
Using the table below check which channel is correlated with the wall thickness of
your bottle. There are marked strip widths on the Cut-Man design near every
channel.
0,35 mm → 6 mm
0,30 mm → 7 mm
0,25 mm → 8 mm
0,20 mm → 9 mm
0,15 mm → 10 mm
0,1 mm →12 mm
On the left bottle wall thickness, on the right strip width.
● Using a caliper measure the bottle wall thickness and choose the right
channel. In my case I have to choose a 10mm channel. Set the appropriate
position of the rod as well, to allow the bottle to spin freely.
● Pull the end of the string, try to do it evenly and as perpendicular as possible.
3. Cutting the bottle - creating plastic string
● Take scissors and align one of the ends of the strip, then pass it through the
special slot in the small_spool.
● I’m holding it in the middle with two fingers and rolling on my arm till it’s fully
wound.
STEP 2.2 Cutting module (automatic cutter)
v Cutting module has 6 channels, every channel cut your future string to particular
width. Using the table below check which channel is correlated with the wall
thickness of your bottle. There are marked strip widths on the cutting module design
near every channel.
0,35 mm → 6 mm
0,30 mm → 7 mm
0,25 mm → 8 mm
0,20 mm → 9 mm
0,15 mm → 10 mm
0,1 mm →12 mm
On the left bottle wall thickness, on the right strip width.
3. Cutting the bottle - creating plastic string
● Using a caliper measure the bottle wall thickness and choose the right
channel. In my case I have to choose a 10mm [Link] the appropriate
position of the rod as well, to allow the bottle to spin freely.
● Use the side slot of the Module_01_string_guide and pull the string using
pliers, 10-15cm is enough.
4. Creating the filament!
4. Creating the filament!
ℹ From now on every next step will be the same regardless which cutting method you
choose before.
ℹ Just for demonstration purposes, first I will continue as if we used Cut-Man for
cutting.
⚠ Don’t turn on PETmachine yet! We will make every next step with a cold hotend.
Later I will let you know when to turn it on.
● Pass the end of the strip through the ribbon_guide and COLD nozzle.
● Turn the potentiometer of the PWM motor controller maximally counter
clockwise.
● Connect the PETmachine® to the mains and turn it on.
4. Creating the filament!
ℹ PV is your actual/real hotend temperature. SV your desired temperature.
● Set the temperature of 205 degree Celsius on the REX-C100 temperature
controller, to do this:
○ Click “SET” button, then use left arrow to choose particular column
[ 0 , 0 , 0 , 0] and down/up arrow to increase/decrease the number in
this column from 0 to 9.
○ To accept the value click the “SET” button again.
● When the temperature reaches 100 degree Celsius, pull the end of the strip a
little bit. It will prevent the string from retracting and popping out from the back
of the hotend.
● When temperature reaches 205 degree Celsius, pull the filament through the
whole machine.
4. Creating the filament!
● Pass the filament around the guiding_roller like in the picture.
● Pass the filament through the special tunnels in the winding spool.
● Make a loop, tighten firmly (it will be easier using pliers) and cut the end of the
unwanted filament.
4. Creating the filament!
● Make sure that filament is placed on the tensioner_roller. Then turn the
potentiometer of the PWM motor controller clockwise till the winding spool will
start to move slowly. Later you can speed it up to around 70% of power.
● Sometimes you can align the filament on the spool with your finger.
● When the plastic strip is finished, turn off the motor, then the whole machine
using the main switch. Cut off the end of the filament and take it off from the
winding spool. Congrats! Your filament is ready to print!
5. Filament runout sensor
5. Filament runout sensor
● To arm the sensor, filament has to be processed.
● When the PETmachine® is working and filament makes the tension on the
tensioner_rod just turn OFF the main switch. Nothing happened right?
PETmachine® is still running. It should be like this.
● When filament is over and tension from the rod taken, the sensor will turn off
the PETmachine® automatically.
6. Guiding_roller V2 (experimental)
6. Guiding_roller_V2 (experimental)
Thanks to Jorge Luis Chinea for sharing this model with us!
ℹ This version of guiding_roller should help you to better align the filament on the
winding spool.
⚠ Let me know if you liked it. Your feedback can be really precious for me!
● Run the filament like shown in the pictures and experiment!
7. Electric terminal - help with filament pulling
7. Electric terminal - help with filament pulling
● First of all, you have to remove the plastic case from the electric terminal to
get just this metal part like on the right.
● Pass the filament that you have already made before or cotton cord through
all the tunnels in the winding spool, make a loop ,tighten firmly and cut the
end. Run it around the guiding_roller and cut it to almost touch the nozzle.
● Then pass the plastic strip and pull with pliers like you learned in the previous
chapter and cut it.
7. Electric terminal - help with filament pulling
● Make the ends of both filaments flat.
● Pass two ends of the filaments through the metal part.
● Tighten the bolts and voila! Now you can make the PETmachine® pull the
filament for you!
8. Slicer settings & recommended 3D printer setup
8. Slicer settings & recommended 3D printer setup
● Using a dual gear extruder is strongly recommended. Due to the technology
process our bottle filament is hollow inside and when it’s not grabbed from two
sides it will slip and cause under extrusion / clog symptoms.
● High temperature (full metal) hotend is recommended, but not necessary like
dual gear extruder.
● When using normal hotend I recommend changing PTFE tube to Capricorn
PTFE tubing. Compared to the stock PTFE tube (especially in “chinese”
printers) quality is way better and printing in high temperatures safer.
PETmachine and slicer settings table
Setting Value Commentary
Pulling temperature* 195-215 degree Celsius (PETmachine)
Pulling speed around 70% of the potentiometer's max. range (PETmachine)
Layer height 0.15-0.3mm
Nozzle temperature 255-260 degree Celsius**
Bed temperature 75-85 degree Celsius You have to experiment with
Flow 115-130% different parameters to find
Your best ones.
Printing speed 30-50mm/s
2-3mm*** (bowden extruder) / 0,5-1mm*** (direct drive
Retraction distance extruder)
Retraction speed 20mm/s (bowden and direct drive extruder)
Cooling fan speed 10-50%
*PETmachine hotend temperature (for me 205 degree Celsius works nice).
**Due to working with higher limits for the majority of the basic 3D printer hotend I strongly
recommend to change your PTFE tube to Capricorn.
***Lower is better. This filament doesn't like too much retraction. Try to totally turn off retraction for
tests, then increase it (increase a little bit, test, increase a little bit, test and so on) to the sweet spot
between successful printing and no stringing.
FAQ
1. Filament is coming out scratched.
Top 1 reason it's happening is because the strip is too wide. Your pulling
temperature can be too low as well.
Solution: Try to cut your strip 1mm lower. Optionally, raise your pulling
temperature by 10 degrees.
2. What’s the PETmachine power consumption?
PETmachine consume around 0.045Wh. Around 22 hours of non-stop
working cost 0.22€ (Europe).
In this time we can process around 60 5l bottles and get almost 4 kg of
filament (1320m).
3. REX C100 is counting temperature down.
Don't worry! It's totally normal when REpin 9 and PIN 10 are connected
to the wrong thermocouple wires.
Solution: Reverse PIN 9 and PIN 10 thermocouple wires.
4. Plastic strip is breaking all the time when
cutting.
Practice, practice, practice. Don't worry, everyone is struggling with this
in the beginning. Try to keep your bottle edges cut smooth, without
making them burr. Every burr can cause snapping.
5. What if I don't have a JST XH 2.54mm fan
connector?
Simply act like it doesn't exist and crimp fun wires directly, in a place
where you see JST XH 2.54mm wires on the diagram. But remember to
pass fun wires through the proper housing hole before crimping!
6. Electric motor is spinning with full speed
regardless of using the potentiometer of the
PWM motor controller.
Solution: Check 12v line and motor wires connection with PWM motor
controller. 12V polarization is really important! If everything is connected
well and the motor is still spinning with max. speed, probably the PWM
controller is damaged and needs to be replaced.
7. Filament is clogging when trying to print. What
can I do?
From my and many other people's experience, what occur is not filament
clogging. There is a problem with extrusion, filament is slipping in the
feeder.
There can be problems with slicer settings as well.
Solution: If your printer doesn't have a dual gear feeder, you have to
install this upgrade. It will help a lot.
Check your slicer settings and compare with recommended ones, you
can always ask for help on our Discord channel as well.
8. My filament has a lot of strings when printing.
(Dry the filament)
Our PET filament didn't have time and conditions to dry enough and still
has some moisture.
Solution: Dry the filament using a filament drier, consider lowering the
retraction.
9. Temperature is fluctuating. (PID autotune)
If your REX C100 temperature is fluctuating and overpassing the set
temperature, there is a fast solution for it.
Solution: You have to perform an autotune procedure that will choose
appropriate P, I and D settings for you.
[Link]
10. My filament is hollow. Did I make something
wrong?
It's totally normal in this process. We don't "melt" our plastic string, only
plasticize to give it a "straw shape".
11. My filament is not rounded (the cross section
looks like “U”).
Solution: try to cut your strip 1mm higher, repeat again if needed.
12. The REX C100 display is blinking and
showing “ooooo” - the controller doesn’t work.
It means that there is no thermocouple connected to the REX C100.
Solution1: Check well if thermocouple wires are touching terminals,
crimp it and check again if connection is good.
Solution2: Thermocouple sensor (small ball) can have no connection -
wire can be damaged. In this case the thermocouple has to be replaced.
13. 3D prints are coming out not transparent and
with bubbles inside.
Solution: You have to dry your filament using dedicated filament dryers
or food dehydrators.