Industrial design case study

PlastiVista

A circular manufacturing system turning plastic waste into designed products.

PlastiVista connects waste collection, shredding, extrusion, filament production, 3D printing, and product design into one local material loop. It is the system layer behind Sol Seven Studios: the infrastructure that lets material, hardware, electronics, and designed objects belong to the same story.

System design Fabrication Controls Recycled filament

Circular PlastiVista system graphic connecting printed products, shredding, extrusion, filament, and 3D printing. — The project frames recycling as an active studio workflow: waste enters, material is processed, and new products return from the loop.

Project overview

Designing the system behind the object.

Sol Seven Studios shows the product-facing result. PlastiVista shows the machinery, material decisions, and control logic that make that result circular instead of symbolic.

Role

Industrial design, system design, prototyping, fabrication, electronics, controls logic, and project storytelling.

Tools and processes

CAD, 3D printing, shredding, extrusion, recycled filament, Arduino-based controls, wiring, enclosure design, and iterative material testing.

Output

A local circular production system connected to Sol Seven Studios, turning failed prints and plastic scraps into usable material for designed products.

Context

The plastic problem becomes visible inside the studio.

Failed prints, purge material, support structures, packaging, and offcuts often leave the studio as low-value waste. Centralized recycling systems are distant from the design decisions that create the waste in the first place.

PlastiVista starts from a simple observation: the waste stream is not only an environmental issue. It is also a design material, a logistics problem, and a missed opportunity for local manufacturing.

Problem

Waste disappears from the process before designers can learn from it.

Opportunity

Keep material close enough to be measured, processed, tested, and reused.

Problem framing graphic showing plastic waste, product output, printing, and the material loop as one connected design challenge. — The project begins by placing the product, printer, and waste stream in one field of view, keeping design decisions connected to material consequences.

Insight

Waste is not the end of the process. It is local manufacturing material.

That shift changed the project from a product-only exploration into a full material pipeline: a system for recovering value before it leaves the studio.

Early visual system graphic connecting a lamp, user, furniture, and recycling node. — Early systems thinking mapped product, user, and recycling node as one connected experience.

Material behavior study showing degradation, purity, reinforcement, and processing variables for recycled plastic. — Material analysis clarified why clean inputs, controlled processing, and repeatable settings matter when recycled plastic becomes product stock.

System comparison graphic contrasting distant recycling with a local PlastiVista manufacturing loop. — The proposed system connected product, processor, and direct material feedback into a smaller circular workflow.

System concept

A local loop for circular production.

The core system maps a complete material path from collection to product and back again. Each step is both a machine interaction and a design decision.

01 Waste Failed prints, scraps, and plastic offcuts enter the loop.

02 Shred Material is reduced into consistent flakes for processing.

03 Extrude Flakes are heated, pushed, and stabilized into a continuous line.

04 Filament Recycled material becomes printable stock for the studio.

05 Print Parts, tests, and products move from CAD into physical form.

06 Product Sol Seven Studios becomes the visible expression of the loop.

07 Reprocess Offcuts and failed tests return to the beginning.

Circular system diagram connecting waste, shredding, extrusion, filament, printing, product output, and reprocessing. — The full loop connects material recovery, machine workflow, filament production, printing, and designed output into one product ecosystem.

Collect

Start with a controlled local stream so material quality is knowable.

Process

Shred and extrude with repeatable settings rather than one-off experiments.

Validate

Print samples, track failures, and feed the learning back into the system.

Express

Turn the material loop into products people can understand and keep.

Divergent exploration

From product ideas to a circular manufacturing platform.

The early work tested multiple directions: product forms, service models, reward systems, machine layouts, and exhibition formats. The project became stronger when the focus moved from a single product to the infrastructure that could make many products possible.

Early sketch exploration testing furniture forms, modular connections, and material-efficient structures. — Early sketch exploration tested product typologies, modular forms, and the first questions that led to the system architecture.

Ideation panel showing chair studies, system logic, and the move from single products toward repeatable structures. — Divergent concepts helped separate what should become a product, what should become equipment, and what should become the larger system.

Design direction panel defining controlled geometry, visible material identity, modularity, and industrial restraint. — Design criteria clarified the visual language: controlled geometry, visible material identity, modularity, and industrial restraint.

Early graphic concept for a compact filament recycler. — A compact recycler concept helped define the machine as a designed object, not only shop equipment.

Spatial layout study showing the circular journey from material input to product output. — Spatial planning turned the system into a walkthrough, making each step of the material loop understandable at a glance.

Decision 01

Prioritize the material loop.

The system needed to show how waste becomes stock, not simply claim that a product is recycled.

Decision 02

Make machines legible.

Shredding, heating, winding, and control had to feel visible enough for viewers to understand the transformation.

Decision 03

Let the product carry the proof.

Sol Seven Studios became the consumer-facing output, while PlastiVista stayed focused on the infrastructure behind the material.

Hardware build

Building the material pipeline from shredder to filament.

PlastiVista was developed through physical fabrication: metal hardware, 3D printed parts, machine enclosures, extrusion tests, wiring, and shop-floor iteration. The project lives between industrial design language and real fabrication constraints.

Production system composition showing shredded plastic, recycled filament, printed components, and product output. — The production system became the central story: waste, filament, printed components, and product output arranged as one material sequence.

Interactive shredder model

The shredder is the first mechanical decision in the loop.

Before plastic can become filament, it has to become predictable feedstock. The shredder reduces failed prints and scraps into flakes that can be handled, sorted, stored, and sent into extrusion.

Orbit the model to inspect the material-processing package: housing, motor placement, enclosure language, and access points that support the larger pipeline.

Loading 3D shredder model

Interactive 3D model of the shredder, part of PlastiVista's material processing system for turning plastic scraps into usable feedstock.

Hands-on fabrication process with electronics, fasteners, enclosure components, and control hardware on the workbench. — Hands-on prototyping connected industrial design decisions to wiring, enclosure assembly, service access, and real fabrication constraints.

Shredder overview showing the material-processing machine and its role in the circular production loop. — The shredder became the first physical step in translating discarded plastic into consistent, usable feedstock.

Shredder development showing fabrication steps, blade mounting, and enclosure assembly. — Build iteration moved from layout studies to blade mounting, enclosure assembly, and serviceable machine architecture.

Final shredder shown from multiple angles as a designed processing node. — The completed shredder presents the processing node as a designed machine with clear access, controls, and interaction points.

Finished PlastiVista machine enclosure with touchscreen and orange handles. — Finished enclosure integrating controls, ventilation, access, and a calmer product-facing form.

Shredder housing and blade assembly mounted in a fabricated frame. — Shredder assembly housed inside the fabrication frame before final closure.

Extrusion setup on a workbench with a filament spool, motor, and bench hardware. — Extrusion and winding setup arranged for testing material flow and filament control.

Shredder motor, control box, gears, fasteners, and hardware laid out on a white surface. — Component layout used to understand the mechanical package, drive system, and serviceable parts.

Open PlastiVista machine enclosure showing internal electronics and workspace. — Interior access during fabrication, balancing serviceability with a cleaner exterior shell.

Electronics and control

The engineering layer makes the loop repeatable.

The system depends on control more than appearance. Motors, relays, power delivery, heat control, switches, and interface decisions determine whether material can be processed consistently enough to become product-grade stock.

This layer turns PlastiVista from a concept image into working infrastructure: a machine that can be started, tuned, observed, repaired, and improved.

Temperature logic

Heat and extrusion behavior are treated as a controlled material process.

Power and safety

Relays, switches, fans, and power routing shape the system's reliability.

Interface layer

A touchscreen and physical controls make the machine legible during use.

Extruder overview showing hopper, auger, heater, pulling system, and control components. — The extruder translates shredded material into a continuous output through heat, auger movement, and controlled pulling.

Extruder development showing mechanical layout, control wiring, and electronics assembly. — Extruder development combined mechanical layout, control wiring, and enclosure decisions into a more repeatable material process.

Close-up of relay and starter wiring inside the control system. — Relay, starter, and power routing details inside the control box.

Touchscreen control interface mounted on the PlastiVista machine. — Touchscreen control interface embedded into the machine body.

Material testing

Experiments, failed prints, and usable material.

The material story is intentionally process-driven. PlastiVista treats each failed print, shred size, extrusion attempt, and print test as feedback for the next pass through the loop.

Failed prints, supports, and plastic scraps gathered as material input for the circular loop. — Failed prints, supports, and scraps become the measurable starting point for the loop.

Material processing through shredding, sorting, and flake handling. — Shredding and flake handling made the material easier to sort, observe, and prepare for extrusion.

Hand holding shredded plastic flakes above a bin of processed material. — Shredded flakes make the waste stream measurable, handleable, and ready for extrusion tests.

Recycled filament on a spool beside a printed product test. — Filament-to-print testing showed recycled stock returning to a physical product trial.

Small black 3D printed chair test part made from recycled material. — A print test showing recycled material returning to designed form.

PlastiVista powers the material loop behind Sol Seven Studios.

Product output

Sol is the product-facing expression. PlastiVista is the infrastructure.

Sol Seven Studios focuses on lamps, modularity, product language, and human factors. PlastiVista sits underneath that work as the circular manufacturing system that makes the material story operational.

Together, they form a complete portfolio narrative: not only what the product looks like, but how it can be made, remade, repaired, and returned to a loop.

System diagram showing Sol Seven Studios, the PlastiVista recycler, and the public walkthrough as linked project outputs. — The project was organized as three linked outputs: product, recycling node, and public walkthrough.

Diagram connecting PlastiVista and Sol Seven Studios through local circular manufacturing. — The bridge between Sol and PlastiVista clarified which work was product design and which work was manufacturing infrastructure.

Digital Ecosystem + Market Testing

Live prototypes connected the system to customers and adoption.

PlastiVista extends beyond hardware and material testing into a broader product ecosystem. I built live digital prototypes to explore configuration, customer education, market interest, and how a circular manufacturing program could move from studio proof-of-concept toward public adoption.

Live Sol Seven Studios configurator prototype showing modular lamp controls and product visualization. — The configurator turns modular product logic into a customer-facing exploration tool for shade, base, divider, and lighting combinations.

Sol Seven Studios Storefront + Configurator

Product-facing prototype for modular exploration.

Sol Seven Studios was developed as the product-facing side of the system. The live storefront prototype explores how customers could browse, understand, and configure modular lamp combinations before purchase.

Modular product configuration
E-commerce UX
Product visualization
Customer-facing storytelling
Design system development

Open Sol Seven Studios Prototype

Live PlastiVista system site showing the circular manufacturing platform and waitlist path. — The public-facing system site explains the circular manufacturing program and creates a path for businesses, schools, and communities to show interest.

PlastiVista System Site + Waitlist

Market-ready communication for a circular production model.

The PlastiVista site translates the circular manufacturing system into a public-facing platform, using a working waitlist to measure interest from businesses and communities that could participate in local material recovery.

Market validation
Public system communication
Circular manufacturing strategy
Community onboarding
Interest capture

Open PlastiVista System Site

Final outcome and vision

Distributed local circular manufacturing.

PlastiVista proposes a scalable model for studios, schools, and small manufacturers that want more control over their material loop. The value is not only environmental. It is creative, educational, and infrastructural: design decisions become connected to material consequences.

The project closes the distance between design, engineering, and fabrication. It shows that circularity can be built into the workflow, not added as a claim after the product is finished.

Distributed circular manufacturing vision showing local production nodes and designed product outputs.

System strategy graphic showing local production nodes recovering material and producing designed products. — Local nodes recover, process, and output products without separating material value from design value.

System diagram comparing centralized waste processing with distributed local manufacturing. — The distributed model places material recovery closer to where waste is created and where products are used.

Final setup showing PlastiVista material infrastructure beside Sol Seven Studios product output. — The final setup placed the material infrastructure beside the product studio it supports.