Sustainability Characterization for Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) has the potential to create geometrically complex parts that require a high degree of customization, using less material and producing less waste. Recent studies have shown that AM can be an economically viable option for use by the industry, yet there are some inherent challenges associated with AM for wider acceptance. The lack of standards in AM impedes its use for parts production since industries primarily depend on established standards in processes and material selection to ensure the consistency and quality. Inability to compare AM performance against traditional manufacturing methods can be a barrier for implementing AM processes. AM process sustainability has become a driver due to growing environmental concerns for manufacturing. This has reinforced the importance to understand and characterize AM processes for sustainability. Process characterization for sustainability will help close the gaps for comparing AM performance to traditional manufacturing methods. Based on a literature review, this paper first examines the potential environmental impacts of AM. A methodology for sustainability characterization of AM is then proposed to serve as a resource for the community to benchmark AM processes for sustainability. Next, research perspectives are discussed along with relevant standardization efforts.

A framework to reduce product environmental impact through design optimization for additive manufacturing

“…Recently, a sustainability characterization guide for AM is proposed by Mani et al(2014). This general guide provides a measurement framework to improve the sustainability of manufacturing processes.…”

Life Cycle Assessment of 3D Printed Products in a Distributed Manufacturing System

“…These are powder based, solid based, and liquid based. This categorization has been already explained in detail in Gibson and colleagues (2015) and standardized by the Additive Manufacturing Technology Standards (ASTM) committee on AM, as reported by Mani and colleagues (Mani et al 2014). The most frequently used additive processes are stereolithography, selective laser sintering (SLS), digital light processing, fused deposition modeling (FDM), and selective laser melting (SLM).…”

An Economic Insight into Additive Manufacturing System Implementation

“…Although various studies have considered the issue of energy usage in AM machines, a unified and standard procedure to measure energy consumption is still lacking and there needs to be more data for making comparisons among conventional technologies and AM. However, there are multiple studies [7] which show when it comes to the environmental aspects and carbon footprint, AM has a positive impact. Needless to say that a majority of these researches would still pinpoint the focus of their investigations into the lack of detailed information regarding wastes, energy consumption and environmental impacts.…”

“…Although the lack of comprehensive data to assess sustainability aspects of AM is a big impediment, some researchers have tried to identify the key concepts of AM which are relevant to sustainable manufacturing [7]. These are the same advantages that distinguish AM from conventional and traditional manufacturing processes.…”