There are many projects related to 3D printing, many others with the recycling of old devices, but there are not many like the current project of Tropical Labs: an old coffee maker that will be able to 3D print objects.
This project is interesting because it takes advantage of the power that the old coffee machines have to take advantage as a structure and together with electronics, to be able to print 3D objects as if it were a RepRap project printer.
The Tropical Labs project is interesting, very interesting since it combines recycling with 3D printing. But if you are looking for a cheap 3D printer, forget about this project. The coffee maker in question dispenses with custom parts and shaft structures.
An old coffee maker can be turned into a 3D printer thanks to this hacking project
But we will need to use the expensive components of a 3D printer, namely the electronics and the extruder . In this case, the project uses an Arduino MEGA board paired with Ramps 1.4 electronics. So, unless we have an old coffee maker, this won't be a budget-friendly project.
In any case, the project is entirely viable and we can reproduce it, according to Tropical Labs. We can reproduce the project thanks to its release on the Hackaday website , where we'll find all the information to recreate it and even modify it to our liking.
The most interesting thing about all this is that, with this project, coffee machines are positioned as the maker's and 3D printing's best friends. Modern capsule coffee machines can provide us with materials to create printed objects, and old coffee machines, thanks to this project, can serve as 3D printers, at least for getting started in the world of 3D printing or creating basic objects we need.