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Roadmap · updated 28 Oct 2026

Now, next, later.

This is the plan as it stands. Dates slip; when they do, we’ll say which and why.

  1. Now

    Oct–Nov 2026

    • Recycling Finish the bottle machine
    • The workshop Safety before machines
    • The workshop Know what we have
    • Recycling Filament from print waste
    • Teaching & kits First map tiles

  2. Next

    Dec 2026 – Feb 2027

    • Recycling The plastic identifier, Le Nez
    • Recycling First spool, first test log
    • Recycling Cardboard pulp for the shop across the street
    • The first episodes
    • Repair café The first repair café
    • Conservation tech First conversations
    • Repair café First impact numbers

  3. Later

    2027

    • Recycling Universal recycler, phase B
    • Recycling Sheet press for bottle caps
    • Teaching & kits Air-quality sensor kit
    • Conservation tech Trap sensors in the field
    • Teaching & kits School sessions and a monthly repair café
    • Recycling Universal recycler, phase C
    • A year in numbers

Now · Oct–Nov 2026

On the bench.

  • Oct–Nov 2026 Recycling

    Finish the bottle machine

    Print the last parts of the Recreator3D MK6, fit the hardware, run the safety checks, then pull the first filament from a clear bottle.

    Bottle to filament — Recreator3D MK6 building

  • Nov 2026 Workshop

    Safety before machines

    Smoke alarms, extinguisher, fire blanket and an electrician’s check before any new machine is switched on.

    The building

  • Nov 2026 Workshop

    Know what we have

    Photograph and sort the electronics we already own into labelled bins, so we don’t buy what’s already in a drawer.

  • mid-Nov 2026 Recycling

    Filament from print waste

    A desktop crusher and extruder arrive around mid-November. Set up in the garage, dried PLA first, every batch logged.

    Filament from print waste building

  • Nov 2026 Teaching

    First map tiles

    Print the two test tiles of the Akaroa relief maps and see how they feel to the hand.

    Akaroa relief maps building

Next · Dec 2026 – Feb 2027

Coming up.

  1. Dec 2026 – Jan 2027

    The plastic identifier, Le Nez

    Order the circuit boards and infrared parts, build it, and calibrate it on a labelled set of local plastics — PVC included.

    Recycling designing Le Nez — plastic identifier

  2. Dec 2026

    First spool, first test log

    A full spool of filament from bottles, a part printed with it, and the test numbers published, good or bad.

    Recycling building Bottle to filament — Recreator3D MK6

  3. Dec 2026

    Cardboard pulp for the shop across the street

    Seed paper first, then jar cradles pressed on moulds printed from our own bottle filament.

    Recycling designing Cardboard pulp for the refill shop

  4. Dec 2026 – Jan 2027

    The first episodes

    Episodes 1–3 edited and published, one every two weeks, with English and French subtitles.

    Channel The channel

  5. Summer 2026–27

    The first repair café

    Set the date, brief the volunteers, open the doors. Announced on the mailing list and in the window first.

    Repair café designing Repair café — building the kit

  6. Dec 2026 – Jan 2027

    First conversations

    Go out with local trappers and ask what they still do by hand. Offer Akaroa Area School a session for Term 1.

    Conservation idea Smart predator trap sensor

  7. Jan 2027

    First impact numbers

    The first quarterly numbers published, however small.

    Repair café

Later · 2027

The year after.

Render of the planned conveyor with a magnetic head pulley and two bins.
Universal recycler, phase B: the conveyor, CAD render

  1. Jan–Jun 2027

    Universal recycler, phase B

    A conveyor with a magnet roller, a fast-spinning magnet rotor that flicks out aluminium (eddy current), a zig-zag air column, screens and water tanks.

    designing The universal recycler

  2. 2027

    Sheet press for bottle caps

    HDPE and PP caps into sheets, then tags, soap dishes and line winders.

    idea Sheet press for bottle caps

  3. 2027

    Air-quality sensor kit

    The first kit, once people outside the workshop have built and used it. The files stay free.

    designing Air-quality sensor kit

  4. 2027

    Trap sensors in the field

    If the trappers want it: a prototype on a real line, then ten traps through one winter, with the false-alarm rate published.

    idea Smart predator trap sensor

  5. 2027

    School sessions and a monthly repair café

    Regular sessions, two regular volunteers, and a spare-parts library growing from every repair.

    idea Printed spare-parts library

  6. from Jul 2027

    Universal recycler, phase C

    Static electricity and a light-based sorter, to split plastics that look alike.

    designing The universal recycler

  7. Oct 2027

    A year in numbers

    An annual impact report: what was repaired, recycled, taught and published.

Changes, logged

What we changed our minds about.

We keep a dated log of every decision and why. A few recent ones:

  1. Scan to 3D is paused before its first scan. The software is built; the rented computer that runs it isn’t switched on.

  2. The shredder is paused. We bought a small desktop crusher and extruder for our own print waste, instead of building a shredder and an extruder this year. That frees the build days for the bottle machine and Le Nez. The shredder design is kept for 2027.

  3. The salvaged extruder is replaced by that same desktop machine. Its metal parts were out of stock, with no restock date.

  4. Loud and hot machines run off site. The 1868 cottage stays quiet and dust-free.

  5. Cardboard pulp moved up, because it’s simple, safe and closes a loop: bottle, filament, mould, box.

Every project and its status

Want to move something up the list?

Tell us what you’d use. Real requests from real people change the order.

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