FEATURE


3D PRINTING/ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING


Can additive manufaCtu sustainability equation?


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With industry focused on sustainability and the energy transition, Pierre Forêt, head of Additive Manufacturing, Linde, explores how additive manufacturing could have potential as a more sustainable production method


e are already starting to live with the impacts of a changing climate on communities, businesses and supply


chains. In fact the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report delivered the unnerving news that the world is likely to overshoot the critical 1.5˚C mark by 2030. In the face of global warming and climate


change, companies are becoming increasingly aware that they must rethink their business practices and pursue sustainable development – and financial profitability needs to go hand- in-hand with environmental integrity. When it comes to manufacturing,


sustainability refers to the production and fabrication of manufactured products through economically sound processes that minimise negative environmental impacts while conserving energy and natural resources. However, implementing sustainability


principles in manufacturing is a complex challenge, forcing companies to confront dilemmas and make decisions with conflicting objectives and values.


additive manufaCturing’s role


Additive manufacturing can be used to build complex components that would typically be very challenging, if not impossible, with more traditional subtractive manufacturing methods. It offers numerous advantages – greater design freedom and customisation, improved product strength and functionality, reduced assembly time for complex components, localised production, rapid time to market,


mitigation of wastage, reduced obsolescence, decreased reliance on traditional suppliers and even the creation of new materials with unique mechanical and behavioural properties. In addition, despite the technology being


at a relatively early stage of adoption, it is also showing signs of delivering potential environmental benefits. With some already claiming it as a green


technology, additive manufacturing holds significant potential to decrease the volume of natural resources typically utilised; increase materials efficiency; reduce stock obsolescence and material waste; improve functionality and extend product life; enable ease of access to spare parts; reduce weight of key components; mitigate the need for special tooling in part fabrication; and reduce emissions through less transportation required. For many manufacturers – particularly those in


the transportation industries – light-weighting is an ultimate goal to reduce fuel consumption and carbon footprint. Additive manufacturing allows for the design of considerably lighter components, as well as enabling several components to be integrated into a single part – so potentially reducing the total number of parts required to be welded together at assembly stage. It also allows for highly innovative designs of parts with both greater functionality that can often be too intricate to be cast. Some of the most advanced engine parts aimed at significantly reducing weight and fuel consumption can now be successfully produced thanks to additive manufacturing. The more complex a printed part, the


Additive manufacturing can be used to build complex components that would typically be very challenging with other methods


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more advantageous it is to use additive manufacturing, as the cost and energy for printing is not dependent on component complexity. Components can also be redesigned to provide additional functionality – for example, improved cooling by integrating cooling channels into the structure to enhance energy efficiency and performance of the entire product. Specialised parts can be produced quickly and on demand, enabling more or less immediate access to spare parts for repairs which can not only extend the life of a product, but can mitigate the need for extensive storage and inventory – all of which needs space and energy to become operational. And, if printing takes place on-site, no transportation is needed. Furthermore, an additive rather than subtractive approach to manufacturing means that more of the resource material will end up in the printed part, reducing material waste. It is estimated that the amount of feedstock waste created by subtractive manufacturing could


3 DESIGN SOLUTIONS NOVEMBER 2021


be reduced by as much as 90% using an additive manufacturing method. Conventional manufacturing, meanwhile, also consumes other resources such as coolants, lubricants and tooling, which are not needed for AM. That’s not to say that additive manufacturing


generates no waste – for example, some material powders are no longer recyclable, scraps generated by unexpected defects and the support structures created for printing components with overhanging parts.


drawbaCks


The biggest potential drawback to additive manufacturing not achieving its full potential as a more sustainable production method is energy usage – both in the type and volume of energy it consumes. To achieve the future potential environmental benefits it is important that the process benefits as much as possible from the energy transition to renewable power. The developed world has a goal to achieve Net Zero by 2050 and while policies, incentives and sustainability initiatives are largely in place, the delivery of a fully renewable electrified industrial environment is still some way off. In the interim, however, it will be important


to try to minimise the amount of current energy sources used to support the additive manufacturing process. One activity to help is to ensure the additive manufacturing process itself is optimised, thereby mitigating potential re-starts and re-work in the event of defective parts. There are several aspects to the process that, once enhanced, can help prevent false starts. While no one solution can claim to make additive manufacturing more sustainable than traditional production methods, through a combination of technologies – particularly associated with the use of atmospheric gases – the process can be assured to have more reliable, repeatable quality outcomes. Once this is achieved, the advantages of additive manufacturing are, at the very least, given the potential to contribute to more sustainable production methods.


energy Consumption


The success of any additive manufactured process can be determined by the mechanical properties of a finished product. When those properties are below par, resource material wastage and re-work are normally the result. And when wastage and re-work are required, more energy is consumed than is optimally required. The properties of any perfectly printed part


are not only highly dependent upon the printing process itself, but the characteristics of the


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