Researchers use oil leftover donations from McDonald's as resin material for 3D butterfly

Researchers at the University of Toronto, Scarborough campus have reportedly turned to Mcdonald’s for its cooking oil as a cheaper alternative to the expensive resin material for Butterfly 3D Printing. The team was facing issues printing objects in the lab at an incredibly high price, over $500 per litre resin, confirmed reports.

According to the reports, one of the researchers analyzed that the resin material was similar to fats that were found in ordinary cooking oil. This breakthrough discovery led the team to opt for a cheaper alternative as the team began working to turn the cooking oil into resin material for 3D printing.

The team, therefore, urged the fast-food restaurants around the university to make donations for the leftover cooking oil, however, they were turned down by most restaurants except for McDonald's. The nearby McDonald's donated 10 litres of used cooking oil to the researchers, confirmed reports.

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Researchers produced butterfly as small as 100 micrometers

The researchers reportedly filtered the oil to remove chunks of food particles and synthesized small batches to convert it to 3D printing resin material. The team then printed butterflies using 3D printers. As of September, the researchers were able to produce a high-quality butterfly with details as small as 100 micrometers in size, said reports.

The researchers told the media that printed butterflies were smooth to touch and had a waxy surface that repelled water and was structurally stable. It could be perfectly sustained in the room temperature, they said. They further added that the commercially viable resin, which is also biodegradable, could be produced for as little as $0.30 per litre of waste oil.

A researcher examined that only 20 percent of the print diminished upon burying it deep in the soil for over a period of two weeks, said reports. The print damage was negligible despite its cheap production, which was also a great way to reuse and recycle the waste cooking oil.

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