Innovative Orange Juicer 3D Prints Bioplastic Cups Out Of Leftover Orange Peels

I believe orange juice is the elixir of beauty and juice! A cup of freshly-squeezed nutrient-high fruits, rich in freshness and flavor, is the ultimate start of the day!

Let’s be honest, I love sipping orange juice throughout the entire day!

Well, if you are much like me, you will be delighted to read about the innovation of the international design firm Carlo Ratti Associati.

Namely, their Feel The Peel prototype juice bar helps you get your fresh orange juice, but at the same time, it uses the filament made from the leftover orange peels, and 3D prints disposable cups to drink it right away!

Designed in collaboration with global energy company Eni, it is a 10-foot tall orange squeezer machine topped with a huge dome, which can hold up to 1,500 oranges.

Its base is installed with a 3D printer.

Here is how it goes: you place the order for your delicious orange juice, and oranges roll down, where they are squeezed into juice. The rinds then fall through a tube and accumulate at the bottom.

They are then dried and milled to make “orange dust”, which is combined with polylactic acid (PLA) into a bioplastic material.

Next, it is heated and melted and converted into a filament that the 3D printer can use to make recyclable 3D printed cups.

Theoretically, the material can be continually broken down and remade into further cups.

The installation revolves around “ circular economy”, which is supported by many, including the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. It involves designing out waste and pollution from the production and consumption process, and regenerating natural systems. In this way, it points out the possibility of using materials in a way different from the traditional one.

Carlo Ratti explains:

“The principle of circularity is a must for today’s objects. Working with Eni, we tried to show circularity in a very tangible way, by developing a machine that helps us to understand how oranges can be used well beyond their juice.

The next iterations of Feel the Peel might include new functions, such as printing fabric for clothing from orange peels”.

The potent machine was first presented at an event in Rimini, Italy. Yet, it is not the first time Carlo Ratti Associati and Eni experiment with various materials to explore the possibilities offered by circularity and design.

Their prize-winning Circular Garden, an installation comprised of mycelium arches grown organically and later returned to the soil, was presented at Milan Design Week 2019.

A combo orange juicer/3D printer makes bioplastic cups out of leftover orange peels