I cut up the previous failed wheel into pieces so I can be easily re-metled them for the next wheel attempt to make.

First attempt at full size wheel

This is my first attempt at making a full size wheel for my kiosk.  After the success of the previous test run, I continued to attempt to make a wheel out of recycled HDPE plastic.  My aim was to make a wheel with a radius of 20 cm.

First step is to wash all the plastic and remove labels.

I have been collecting plastic for a while.  This is what 500g of HDPE looks like. 

I then weighted the plastic to that it will be enough for the size and thickness of the wheel I need.

I then put the plastic bit by bit into an oven at 180 degrees, hot enough to melt but not burn the plastic

I then put the motlen plastic blog on my tool and put the top on and pressed the MDF together.

I miss calculated the weight of the plastic so this is blob is too small for me to use. 

Making Plastic wheels experiment

This is a small scale test to see if its possible to make wheels for my kiosk out of recyeld plastic.

This is the equipment I will use to form the melted plastic into a flat piece.  Using 2 nuts to determine the width.

The molten blob of HPDE is pushed between the MDF boards and tightened with block nuts.

I then cut the plastic into a circle using a band saw and disc sander. 

The HDPE can be planed with a wood hand plane to create a smooth more even surface .

Oil experiments

Here I experimented with melting plastic using vegetable oil ( same method used to melt chocolate) in a bowl submerged in boiling water.)  Got this idea from Thomas Thwaites 

toaster project book, where he used this method to make the plastic

 casing for his toaster.  

My new equipment ( 240 degree sugar thermometer, small saucepan) 

1st experiment : The silicone case flooded so let the plastic 

free in the oil. Going back to white as it cooled down

I used silicone cupcake holders from pound-land because silicone has a very 

high melting point (240 degrees)

Whereas HDPE, Polypropylene and polystyrene melt at around 130 degrees.

The plastic touching the casing is starting to melt

Quenching the whole mould in cool water to speed up the process.

Other testing with waste products....

This is a test to see if recycled newspaper can be formed .

Liquidised newspaper, then put in moulds in the oven. 

Threads found in waste textiles bin mixed with powdered potato starch fibre and then put into moulds in the oven.  Also flattened in a panini maker.

Combining plastics

Here are some experiments using different types of plastic together to see if they fuse well.

HDPE and Polypropylene fuse well together , but polystyrene doesn't stick with the 

other plastics making the structure 

Heat gun vs Plastic

Firstly sorting out different plastics washing and then cutting into pieces

PET bottle

HDPE milk bottle

I then made a simple mould by fly pressing aluminium and created feet by bending down the corners. I also made a tapered wooden presser.

With heat from the heat gun and pressure from the plug, I woulded the soft plastic into the mould.

HDPE plastic bag

HDPE milk bottle

All the plastics that worked with this method were PP (polypropelene), PS (polysyrene) and HDPE (high density polyethelene).  The plastic that melted down the best and created the smoothest surface was PP.  PS created a sort of crystal structure.

Expandable foam with bio resin

Some tests I did with bio resin and wood shavings. 

I gathered 3 different types of wood shavings from the wood workshop and at different sizes.

I then graded them on expansion, hardness (top and bottom ) and residue left over.

Welded steel necklace

Developing material from waste

This is an experiment I made using old newspaper.  I liquidized to a pulp using warn water and then added pieces of recycled coloured paper card and plastic bags, then squeezed the water out in a mould and put in the oven to dry it out.


Samples of materials : 1. Carpet underlay, made from recycled fabrics and fibres.
2. My own test, made from recycled newspaper and card.
3. My own test made from recycled plastic bag and then heated

More experiments using recycled plastic bags, bonded together by ironing and then heated with a blow torch.