You Can Now 3D Print Using Coffee, Beer, And Hemp

Looks like a 3D-printed coffee sleeve made of coffee is now a possibility, thanks to 3DomFuel, a startup in Fargo, North Dakota.

The company is recycling a collection of "unusual products" and turning them into filament, which can be used for 3D printing, CNN Money reported.

"You can 3D print products made from beer, coffee and hemp," said 26-year-old John Schneider, cofounder and chief marketing officer of 3DomFuel. Their 3D print filament is called 3D-Fuel.

Schneider and his business partner Jake Clark, 24, wanted to differentiate themselves from a market inundated with plastic filaments and began searching for unconventional materials in 2015.

"We found a local company that specialized in mixing agricultural waste with plastics to create new materials," Schneider said. "It was doing this with coffee waste from local roasters and we decided to try it."

Their coffee filament, called "Wound up," is textured and deep brown with brown flecks. It gives off a sweet taste during the printing process, which evaporates when finished. Possible applications include novelty items such as coffee filter holders and sleeves.

The beer filament is called "Buzzed" and is made "using waste material from the malting process mixed with plastic." The 3D hemp filament, "Entwined," features byproduct from industrial hemp crops, which is mixed with plastic.

Check out our story on the world's first 3D printing restaurant.