Turn Your 3D Print Waste into Filament with the $300 ExtrudeX Now on Kickstarter

For many 3D printer owners, the slow accumulation of failed prints, purge towers, and test pieces is a familiar story. Filament isn’t cheap, and throwing out plastic waste is both financially and environmentally painful. In a recent All3DP poll, 84% of readers either trash or indefinitely store their 3D printer waste. The reason? Recycling is hard to find (you can’t throw out your filament waste with the household recycling) and machines that turn waste back into filament are expensive.

A new Kickstarter campaign aims to address this dilemma.

ExtrudeX, a 3D printable filament recycler and maker, has a mission to give everyday makers the ability to close the loop on their printing habits, turning failed prints, purge blocks, and leftover scraps back into usable filament. All you need to do is purchase the STL files for $49, print them out, and source the rest of the components on Amazon or AliExpress for about $180 to $250 depending on where you live.

The brainchild of a maker who spent nearly three years refining the idea, ExtrudeX offers something the community has been seeking for years: an affordable, approachable, DIY-friendly recycling machine that fits on a desk.

ExtrudeX from Creative3DP arrives at a time when sustainability is becoming a priority across the 3D printing world, yet practical home solutions remain rare. By lowering cost barriers and demystifying the recycling process, the project hopes to empower makers to take control of their material cycles—and reduce plastic waste that would otherwise sit in boxes or end up in the trash.

For hobbyists, educators, and professionals alike, the promise is compelling: a machine that doesn’t just create filament, but transforms leftover prints into new possibilities all for under $500.

A DIY Machine Designed for Real-World 3D Printing Waste

Unlike commercial recyclers—which often run into the thousands of dollars and occupy half a workbench, ExtrudeX is compact, lightweight, and largely 3D printed. Builders print most of the structure themselves, add commonly available hardware components, and assemble the machine using a detailed bill of materials included with every unit.

At its core, ExtrudeX uses a heated metal tube, a powerful motor-driven screw, and a simple hardware control system to melt plastic and extrude it into new 1.75 mm filament. Users load shredded failed prints, support material, purge blocks, or clean virgin pellets into the top hopper. The system then pushes, melts, and extrudes the plastic before guiding it through a cooled path and pulling it onto a spool at a constant speed.

There’s no firmware to flash and no complex electronics to manage, which is an intentional departure from existing DIY extruder designs that often intimidate newcomers. In ExtrudeX, every part of the process is visible and tangible, the company says.

“Keep things open. Keep them understandable. And give makers control over their tools,” the creator writes in the campaign’s Kickstarter page.