Hello! Today I'm finding out how KLM 
became the world's first airline...
...to 3D print aircraft maintenance 
tools from recycled water bottles.
I’ve heard you recycle plastic bottles, 
but what makes this so special?
Well, this is very special.
With our subsidiary KLM Catering 
Services and our partner Reflow,
we’ve developed a closed-loop in which 
we collect PET bottles from all our flights...
and recycle them to make filament, 
which is like ink for 3D printing.
You’ll need a fair 
number of bottles then.
We certainly do, and that’s where 
KLM Catering Services comes in.
And it all happens… 
Here, at KLM Catering Services.
Why is this so important in relation 
to closed-loop recycling?
Everything that goes on board is done by 
Catering Services and taken off again.
The used loads, which 
have just been on a flight, 
come in here and 
we take them apart. 
Where is that done?
- Here, at this department.
Am I doing it right?
- Yes, you are!
The water bottles are made from 
mono-material, a kind of PET, 
which can be used to 
make new water bottles.
What are we going to do 
now with these sorted bottles?
We’re going to press 
the bottles into a bale.
Even the bottle 
caps are collected.
It sounds like it’s raining!
These are six of the 
containers we just saw. 
Rounded off, this is about 3,500 
litres of bottles we’ve just baled up.
So now, these go off to 
the recycling company?
Seems like a good plan.
- Let’s do it.
As you’ve just seen, the 
bottles are ground into pellets.
Now we’re at Reflow where 
they make filament from it.
How many PET bottles go 
onto a roll of filament?
We use around 72 PET bottles 
for each roll of filament.
And is it hard to make?
Yes and no.
It’s a fairly simple process, but making 
high-quality, precision material is quite difficult.
And how many rolls 
do you make in a day?
We make around 
55 rolls a day.
And how long are they?
Each roll is 360 metres long, 
which would be a row of 
roughly five of your new B787s.
Right, that’s pretty long.
KLM is actively 
engaged in 3D printing,
and together we’re exploring initiatives to 
increase sustainability and closed-loop recycling.
For a start with bottles, but we 
could explore other sources too.
You can use this to print something 
nice at KLM using 3D technology.
I’ll give you the honour of delivering 
it to Engineering & Maintenance.
Yes, I’ll do that. 
No problem, thanks!
You’re welcome.
Hi Arlette! 
I’m back again.
What are we 
going to do with it?
Well, we’re going to 
use it for 3D printing.
And it would be great if you could 
load the filament into the printer.
OK!
Here, at the bottom.
Right, 
and then close it again.
And do you also print 
aircraft components?
KLM is certified to maintain 
aircraft, not to produce them. 
Consequently, we’ll never apply 3D printing 
technology to make components, 
although we do produce tools.
OK, but you could print 
anything you want to?
Yes, that’s the 
beauty of 3D printing:
you conceptualise something, 
you draw it in 3D and off you go!
Would you like to 
make something yourself?
I’d like to make something 
like a small aircraft.
Let’s do it.
This is the 3D model 
you’re going to print.
And… start printing.
I’m curious to see what 
it’s going to look like.
It’s going to take a while.
In the meantime, let’s see how the tools 
are used in day-to-day operations.
Good idea, 
let’s do that.
So, tell us Hon Pin, 
what do we have here?
What you see here is a 
brake casing for the Boeing 737. 
During the spraying process, holes that cannot be 
covered or clogged with paint must be sealed off. 
And I came up with 
these perfect plugs. 
It’s now just a question 
of plug-and-paint. 
These B737 plugs 
are another example.
They can be popped in here like this,
also in preparation of 
the spraying process.
Thank you so much for this gift. 
It’s fantastic. 
And thanks for the 
explanation of course.
I never would have thought that my 
water bottle would take such a journey.
Unfortunately, this was my 
very last “Intern On A Mission”, 
but no worries – I’ll be passing 
the baton on to the next intern.
If you have any great 
ideas for the next intern, 
please share them in the comments 
and don’t forget to subscribe and like.
Bye!
