A new Kickstarter is touting 3D printing filament made with “tequila waste”.
It might not get you drunk but, should EcoLife’s PolyAgave filament live up to its promises, it will be compostable, smell like sugar when printing, and exhibit a wood-like appearance when printed.
To create PolyAgave, EcoLife uses fibers from blue agave – the succulent from which tequila is distilled – to form pellets, which are then extruded into a filament and spooled. Not only would the material itself be “environmentally friendly”, but PolyAgave’s spools are made of cardboard – and arrive with no plastic labeling in an effort to improve overall sustainability.
That said, this Kickstarter is new – and we mean, like, new new. At the time of this writing, a scant ~$55 has been pledged toward PolyAgave’s more-than-$50,000 goal. There’s also no real information pertaining to the material’s actual properties – only EcoLife’s promises that the material will adhere to the print bed and won’t clog your printer’s nozzles – which isn’t a lot to go on. Still, it’s good to see new proposals for environmentally friendly filament – and one sourced from industrial waste at that.
Packages that include a 500g spool of filament start at a pricey $71 and eye an estimated January 2024 ship date. You can snag a cheaper package at $50, but that only gets you a 4 oz container of EcoLife’s “Bed Weld” adhesive – and we’re not sure why anyone would want that, especially at that price.
Still, should you want to make a pledge – or just learn more about what is nevertheless an interesting potential product – check out PolyAgave’s Kickstarter page.
You’ve read that; now read these:
Editor’s Note – This article highlights a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. Kickstarter is not a shop; campaigns are under no legal obligation to deliver on crowdfunding promises, nor offer refunds on unfulfilled campaign rewards.
For more insight, read our article 8 Things to Watch for When Backing a 3D Printing Kickstarter.
License: The text of "This Kickstarter Aims to Make 3D Printer Filament From Tequila Waste" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.