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ability professionals relates to the materi- als used in 3D printing. As Dr Bert Bras, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the US Georgia Institute of Engineering explains: “Some materials require HSE expertise. Whenever you deal with fine powders, you can get dust explosions and/or respiratory problems. So that’s a real concern for operators”.
consumption. The efficiency gains over traditional manufacturing, for example, could easily be offset by growth in con- sumption or by the life cycle impacts”. To date, however, few studies have examined the variety of environmental impacts of 3D printing over its lifetime, such as energy use, transportation costs, and pollution, compared with tradition- al manufacturing. Further large-scale research is needed.
It is expected that sustainability pro- fessionals, especially in industry sectors, such as consumer products and electron- ics, automobiles and medicine, will track 3D printing developments, used by their companies and stakeholders, for sustain- ability implications.
One issue that may crop up for sustain-
When looking for evidence of environ- mental benefits, Bras advises sustain- ability professionals to seek proof using ISO14001 standard Life Cycle Analysis (LCA).
However, while 3D printing looks like- ly to cause disruption. Both in the way we use materials and design products, as limitations and barriers improve, most 3D printing experts are quick to correct the misconception that every home will own a 3D printer.
As with any new technology, there are advantages and disadvantages, and the environmental impacts are hard to antic- ipate.
More research is needed, with policy to encourage sustainable printing. No one knows exactly what the future holds. Time, perhaps, to print off that crystal ball!
Most experts are quick to correct the misconception that every home will own a 3D printer – think of the numbers who still can’t use a DVD recorder
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