Utilization of Recycle LDPE (r-LDPE) Plastic and Galangal Stem Fiber for the Development of 3D Printing Filaments

3D printing technology has developed rapidly and has become an increasingly popular manufacturing method. Although various types of 3D printing materials are available, plastic waste as a raw material has become an effort to achieve environmental sustainability. This study aims to increase the strength of 3D printing filaments made from recycled Low-Density Polyethylene (r-LDPE) using galangal stem fiber (A. galanga). This research method includes extruded filaments from the composite. Research variables are the composition of r-LDPE:galangal fiber and barrel temperature. Ratio of r-LDPE:galangal fiber is 100:0, 95:5, 90:10, and 85:15 wt%. The barrel temperatures are 110, 120, and 130°C. The filaments are then used to make tensile test specimens using a 3D printer according to ASTM D638 and tested. SEM and EDS are used to analyze the morphology and composition of the 3D printing results. The experimental results show that the composition of 5% galangal stem fiber with an extrusion temperature of 110°C produces the highest tensile strength of 27.42 MPa at a 3D printing temperature of 230°C, a layer height of 0.28 mm and a print speed of 20 mm/s. The SEM test results show that the filaments vigorously mix between recycled HDPE and galangal stem fibers.