FEATURE SUSTAINABILITY
3D PRINTING IS NOW DRIVING THE SUSTAINABILITY AGENDA
LOCAL ON DEMAND It is the way in which additive manufacturing can be deployed, however, that is fundamentally changing ideas about sustainability and putting 3D printing at the front of the sustainability agenda. Desktop 3D printers are helping small companies prototype and manufacture at low costs with increasing quality while industrial 3D printers, once almost exclusively used for prototyping, are being rolled out on production lines. Furthermore, collaboration is being enabled globally through the creation of additive manufacturing standards, providing a chance for organisations of all sizes to cost effectively innovate and work together. Critically this standardisation is driving
Critics of 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, have long cited the technology’s reliance on plastic filament as the primary print material, and it would seem that – with the global focus on reducing plastic wastage – they have a point
O
r do they? Has 3D printing now reached a maturity level where it
can not only support the sustainability agenda, but actively drive it? From on demand local product manufacture that is set to eradicate huge swathes of an energy sapping international supply chain to global collaboration on innovative products and the adoption of recyclables at every stage of the process from concept to delivery, 3D printing is heralding a new era of sustainable, energy efficient production. More critically, Paul Croft, director of
3DGBIRE and Ultimaker GB and Founder of the Create Education project argues, the portability and low cost of 3D printers is now opening the door to the next generation of innovative thinkers who will use the technology in tandem with tools such as Artificial Intelligence to create extraordinary solutions to many of the pressing environmental issues.
ADDITIVE VALUE 3D printing has provoked excitement and trepidation in equal measure. Proponents of the technology have cited a world of new possibilities for all industries, lowered transportation costs and environmental impacts, reduced
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waste, and minimised reliance on corporations by enabling the maker movement. Certainly, additive manufacturing demands significant less raw products than traditional subtractive manufacturing processes. However, it is also true that early
additive manufacturing techniques, particularly for top end industrial products, are very energy intensive. In addition, its reliance on plastic filament – many of which cannot be recycled – has enabled sceptics to argue that the societal, political, economic, and environmental impacts of the technology have not yet been studied extensively. But both the technology and the
industry have evolved hugely in recent years. Filaments are getting stronger, resolutions are improving, and a wider variety of materials can be printed with additive manufacturing, including metals. The result has been a raft of innovations in areas such as airplane and engine manufacture where the development of lighter components (light-weighting) has enabled very significant reductions in energy consumption, providing considerable support in meeting targets for cutting fossil fuel usage.
SEPTEMBER 2019 | MATERIALS HANDLING & LOGISTICS
3D printing has provoked excitement and trepidation in equal measure
the creation of filament that can be used at every stage of the process, from prototype through to production, enabling companies to leverage the growing options for recyclable filaments throughout the production cycle – whilst also gaining the economic benefits that are essential to competitive yet sustainable operational strategies. The low cost and footprint of 3D
printers is also, in my opinion, providing a chance to radically change the way products are manufactured and delivered – especially for spare parts. Rather than manufacturing in bulk in the Far East and transporting at huge environmental cost to Europe for expensive storage within a warehouse, using a 3D printer parts can be created on demand. This is already being explored within difficult to access locations such as oil rigs (with obvious benefits) and fleets such as the Dutch navy 3D printing spare parts on the go. Reducing the energy consumption
associated with mass production, transport and distribution by embracing local, on demand additive manufacturing could and should deliver very significant long term benefits and is a model that plays strongly into the sustainability agenda. There are so many motivated
3DGbire https://3dgbire. com
individuals who are now using 3D printing to make positive changes, to demonstrate how the world can address its sustainability challenges. The fact is that 3D printing is not the problem: it is a mature, portable and accessible global technology that is providing a chance to solve our problems.
/ MATERIALSHANDLINGLOGISTICS
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