Technology 3/4
gested as reducing the need for long-dis- tance transport with associated costs and carbon emissions.
3D printers have also been cited as potentially extending the product life cycle because of their ability to repair and print replacement parts (with recy- cled materials) and upcycle old products into transformed ones. Finally, some advocates argue that 3D printers could help reduce global eco- nomic imbalances as developing coun- tries could, for example, print their own medical prosthetics, energy generation equipment etc far more economically. Other 3D printing experts, such as Timothy Gutowski, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is less convinced, however. “While there are some interesting appli- cations, there is a lack of strong evidence or research that suggests that 3D print- ing is going to lead to a more widespread sustainable society, in fact in some cases, it may have the opposite effect,” he says. Gutowski supports this with an exam- ple: “It is very easy to combine mix- tures and customise 3D products but it becomes much more difficult to break up
such a product for recycling purposes”. Likewise, one may create another waste problem if everybody starts printing out 3D objects without thinking it through. Felix Preston, research fellow at
Chatham House, adds further to the debate: “Given the range of possible materials, printing methods and applica- tions, there is no guarantee that [3D print- ing] will lead to greener production and
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65