Abstract
Radical technological innovations are emerging in response to environmental, economic and geopolitical pressures. This affects how we design and manufacture new solutions. Additive manufacturing, one of the enabling technologies of the digital transition, can support more-sustainable manufacturing processes if developed through a system-level approach. In this Perspective, we adopt such an approach: we propose to use established sustainable design methods to innovate additive manufacturing systems and to consider how to make additive manufacturing an enabler of sustainable design in combination with conventional manufacturing. We then discuss how to implement our vision to enable additive manufacturing for sustainability.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Gibson, I., Rosen, D., Stucker, B. & Khorasani, M. Additive Manufacturing Technologies (Springer, 2021). This book comprehensively overviews additive manufacturing technologies, detailing the main process principles, materials, design opportunities and digital workflow.
Additive manufacturing market. Precedence Research https://www.precedenceresearch.com/additive-manufacturing-market (2023).
ISO/ASTM 52900:2021, Additive Manufacturing—General Principles—Fundamentals and Vocabulary (ISO, 2021).
Thompson, M. K. et al. Design for additive manufacturing: trends, opportunities, considerations, and constraints. CIRP Ann. Manuf. Technol. 65, 737–760 (2016).
Rosen, D. & Wong, J. in Additive Manufacturing Design and Applications (eds Seifi, M. et al.) 1–14 (ASM International, 2023); https://doi.org/10.31399/asm.hb.v24A.a0006947
The Next Production Revolution: Implications for Governments and Business (OECD, 2017).
Telenko, C. & Seepersad, C. A comparison of the energy efficiency of selective laser sintering and injection molding of nylon parts. Rapid Prototyp. J. 18, 472–481 (2012).
Azevedo, J. M. C., CabreraSerrenho, A. & Allwood, J. M. Energy and material efficiency of steel powder metallurgy. Powder Technol. 328, 329–336 (2018). This paper shows by an example how to objectively consider and analyse different aspects of a possible future manufacturing scenario in which AM would be scaled up to current production volumes.
Raabe, D., Tasan, C. C. & Olivetti, E. A. Strategies for improving the sustainability of structural metals. Nature 575, 64–74 (2019).
Shi, Y. & Faludi, J. Using life cycle assessment to determine if high utilization is the dominant force for sustainable polymer additive manufacturing. Addit. Manuf. 35, 101307 (2020).
Liu, J. et al. Current and future trends in topology optimization for additive manufacturing. Struct. Multidiscip. Optim. 57, 2457–2483 (2018).
Priarone, P. C. & Ingarao, G. Towards criteria for sustainable process selection: on the modelling of pure subtractive versus additive/subtractive integrated manufacturing approaches. J. Clean. Prod. 144, 57–68 (2017).
Takeda, O. & Okabe, T. H. Current status of titanium recycling and related technologies. JOM 71, 1981–1990 (2019).
Khorram Niaki, M. & Nonino, F. The Management of Additive Manufacturing (Springer, 2018).
Van Sice, C. & Faludi, J. Comparing environmental impacts of metal additive manufacturing to conventional manufacturing. Proc. Des. Soc. 1, 671–680 (2021).
Gutowski, T. et al. Note on the rate and energy efficiency limits for additive manufacturing. J. Ind. Ecol. 21, S69–S79 (2017).
Yi, L. & Aurich, J. C. Energy performance evaluation of selective laser melting. Procedia CIRP 105, 559–564 (2022).
Jørgen Hanssen, O. Environmental impacts of product systems in a life cycle perspective. J. Clean. Prod. 6, 299–311 (1998).
IPCC Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (eds Pörtner, H. O. et al.) (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2022).
Kellens, K. et al. Environmental dimensions of additive manufacturing: mapping application domains and their environmental implications. J. Ind. Ecol. 21, 49–69 (2017).
Faludi, J., Baumers, M., Maskery, I. & Hague, R. Environmental impacts of selective laser melting: do printer, powder, or power dominate? J. Ind. Ecol. 21, S144–S156 (2017).
Olivetti, E. A. & Cullen, J. M. Toward a sustainable materials system. Science 360, 1396–1398 (2018). This paper promotes a systemic view towards achieving sustainable products by considering the environmental life cycle of materials.
Yang, S., Min, W., Ghibaudo, J. & Zhao, Y. F. Understanding the sustainability potential of part consolidation design supported by additive manufacturing. J. Clean. Prod. 232, 722–738 (2019).
Markus, K. Solar Sinter Project (Royal College of Art, 2011).
Rosenthal, M., Henneberger, C., Gutkes, A. & Bues, C.-T. Liquid deposition modeling: a promising approach for 3D printing of wood. Holz Roh Werkst 76, 797–799 (2018).
Rael, R. & San Fratello, V. Printing Architecture: Innovative Recipes for 3D Printing (Princeton Architectural Press, 2018).
Mogas-Soldevila, L., Duro-Royo, J. & Oxman, N. Water-based robotic fabrication: large-scale additive manufacturing of functionally graded hydrogel composites via multichamber extrusion. 3D Print. Addit. Manuf. 1, 141–151 (2014).
Horn, M. et al. Multi-material additive manufacturing—recycling of binary metal powder mixtures by screening. Procedia CIRP 93, 50–55 (2020).
Hiller, J. D. & Lipson, H. Fully recyclable multi-material printing. In Proc. 2009 International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium (ed. Bourell, D. L.) 98–106 (Univ. Texas, 2009); https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/15092
Faludi, J., Van Sice, C. M., Shi, Y., Bower, J. & Brooks, O. M. K. Novel materials can radically improve whole-system environmental impacts of additive manufacturing. J. Clean. Prod. 212, 1580–1590 (2019). This paper provides a foundational study on novel, bio-based AM materials, supported by a system-level analysis of their sustainability impacts.
Byggeth, S., Broman, G. & Robèrt, K.-H. A method for sustainable product development based on a modular system of guiding questions. J. Clean. Prod. 15, 1–11 (2007).
Hallstedt, S. I. & Isaksson, O. Material criticality assessment in early phases of sustainable product development. J. Clean. Prod. 161, 40–52 (2017).
Hallstedt, S. I. Sustainability criteria and sustainability compliance index for decision support in product development. J. Clean. Prod. 140, 251–266 (2017). This paper provides a novel approach to define the sustainability design space and long-term sustainability criteria of a product solution, considering the complete life cycle.
Blösch-Paidosh, A. & Shea, K. Industrial evaluation of design heuristics for additive manufacturing. Des. Sci. 8, e13 (2022).
Alexander, S. M. et al. Qualitative data sharing and synthesis for sustainability science. Nat. Sustain 3, 81–88 (2020).
Gomes, C. P., Fink, D., Van Dover, R. B. & Gregoire, J. M. Computational sustainability meets materials science. Nat. Rev. Mater. 6, 645–647 (2021).
Soares, B. et al. Social life cycle performance of additive manufacturing in the healthcare industry: the orthosis and prosthesis cases. Int. J. Comput. Integr. Manuf. 34, 327–340 (2021).
Naghshineh, B., Ribeiro, A., Jacinto, C. & Carvalho, H. Social impacts of additive manufacturing: a stakeholder-driven framework. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change 164, 120368 (2021).
Matos, F. & Jacinto, C. Additive manufacturing technology: mapping social impacts. J. Manuf. Technol. Manage. 30, 70–97 (2018).
Alemán, M. W., Tomko, M. E., Linsey, J. S. & Nagel, R. L. How do you play that makerspace game? An ethnographic exploration of the habitus of engineering makerspaces. Res. Eng. Des. 33, 351–366 (2022).
Brown, T. Change by Design. How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation (Harper Collins, 2019).
Bosqué, C. What are you printing? Ambivalent emancipation by 3D printing. Rapid Prototyp. J. 21, 572–581 (2015).
Stephens, B., Azimi, P., El Orch, Z. & Ramos, T. Ultrafine particle emissions from desktop 3D printers. Atmos. Environ. 79, 334–339 (2013).
Azimi, P., Fazli, T. & Stephens, B. Predicting concentrations of ultrafine particles and volatile organic compounds resulting from desktop 3D printer operation and the impact of potential control strategies. J. Ind. Ecol. 21, S107–S119 (2017).
Chen, R. et al. Exposure, assessment and health hazards of particulate matter in metal additive manufacturing: a review. Chemosphere 259, 127452 (2020).
Oskui, S. M. et al. Assessing and reducing the toxicity of 3D-printed parts. Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 3, 1–6 (2016).
Tedla, G., Jarabek, A. M., Byrley, P., Boyes, W. & Rogers, K. Human exposure to metals in consumer-focused fused filament fabrication (FFF)/3D printing processes. Sci. Total Environ. 814, 152622 (2022).
Mason, R. B. & Taylor, C. S. Explosion of aluminum powder dust clouds. Ind. Eng. Chem. 29, 626–631 (1937).
Broman, G. I. & Robèrt, K.-H. A framework for strategic sustainable development. J. Clean. Prod. 140, 17–31 (2017). This paper presents a framework including overarching socioecological sustainability principles used from a backcasting perspective for defining a sustainability vision.
Yang, S. & Zhao, Y. F. Additive manufacturing-enabled design theory and methodology: a critical review. Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol. 80, 327–342 (2015). This review paper analyses the suitability of engineering design theory and methodology to support DfAM and finds it lacking since it does not encourage the development of creative ideas that benefit from AM’s potential.
Ackermann, L. Design for product care: enhancing consumers’ repair and maintenance activities. Des. J. 21, 543–551 (2018).
de Fazio, F., Bakker, C., Flipsen, B. & Balkenende, R. The disassembly map: a new method to enhance design for product repairability. J. Clean. Prod. 320, 128552 (2021).
Sauerwein, M., Doubrovski, E., Balkenende, R. & Bakker, C. Exploring the potential of additive manufacturing for product design in a circular economy. J. Clean. Prod. 226, 1138–1149 (2019). This article provides a wide perspective on the opportunities enabled by AM when it comes to designing products while aiming at the realization of CE principles and includes insights from both the literature and empirical research.
Bolaños Arriola, J., van Oudheusden, A. A., Flipsen, B. & Faludi, J. 3D Printing for Repair Guide (TU Delft OPEN, 2022).
Samenjo, K., van Oudheusden, A., Arriola, J. B., Flipsen, B. & Faludi, J. Opportunities for 3D-printable spare parts: estimations from historical data. In Proc. PLATE 2021: The 4th Conference on Product Lifetimes and the Environment (ed. Fitzpatrick, C.) 1–10 (2022).
Wilson, J. M., Piya, C., Shin, Y. C., Zhao, F. & Ramani, K. Remanufacturing of turbine blades by laser direct deposition with its energy and environmental impact analysis. J. Clean. Prod. 80, 170–178 (2014).
Aziz, N. A., Adnan, N. A. A., Wahab, D. A. & Azman, A. H. Component design optimisation based on artificial intelligence in support of additive manufacturing repair and restoration: current status and future outlook for remanufacturing. J. Clean. Prod. 296, 126401 (2021).
Xiong, Y., Tang, Y., Zhou, Q., Ma, Y. & Rosen, D. W. Intelligent additive manufacturing and design: state of the art and future perspectives. Addit. Manuf. 59, 103139 (2022).
Go, T. F., Wahab, D. A. & Hishamuddin, H. Multiple generation life-cycles for product sustainability: the way forward. J. Clean. Prod. 95, 16–29 (2015).
Aziz, N. A., Wahab, D. A., Ramli, R. & Azhari, C. H. Modelling and optimisation of upgradability in the design of multiple life cycle products: a critical review. J. Clean. Prod. 112, 282–290 (2016).
Lindkvist Haziri, L. & Sundin, E. Supporting design for remanufacturing—a framework for implementing information feedback from remanufacturing to product design. J. Remanufacturing 10, 57–76 (2020).
Potting, J., Hekkert, M., Worrell, E. & Hanemaaijer, A. Circular Economy: Measuring Innovation in Product Chains (PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, 2017).
Schlesinger, L., Koller, J., Pagels, M. & Döpper, F. Alignment of design rules for additive manufacturing and remanufacturing. J. Remanuf. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13243-022-00122-9 (2022).
Charter, M. & Gray, C. Remanufacturing and product design. Int. J. Prod. Dev. 6, 375 (2008).
Yang, S. S., Ong, S. K. & Nee, A. Y. C. A decision support tool for product design for remanufacturing. Procedia CIRP 40, 144–149 (2016).
Ke, C., Jiang, Z., Zhang, H., Wang, Y. & Zhu, S. An intelligent design for remanufacturing method based on vector space model and case-based reasoning. J. Clean. Prod. 277, 123269 (2020).
Kandukuri, S., Günay, E. E., Al-Araidah, O. & Okudan Kremer, G. E. Inventive solutions for remanufacturing using additive manufacturing: ETRIZ. J. Clean. Prod. 305, 126992 (2021).
Liu, J., Zheng, Y., Ma, Y., Qureshi, A. & Ahmad, R. A topology optimization method for hybrid subtractive–additive remanufacturing. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. Green. Technol. 7, 939–953 (2020).
Kanishka, K. & Acherjee, B. A systematic review of additive manufacturing-based remanufacturing techniques for component repair and restoration. J. Manuf. Process. 89, 220–283 (2023).
Kerin, M. & Pham, D. T. A review of emerging industry 4.0 technologies in remanufacturing. J. Clean. Prod. 237, 117805 (2019).
Ardente, F., Talens Peiró, L., Mathieux, F. & Polverini, D. Accounting for the environmental benefits of remanufactured products: method and application. J. Clean. Prod. 198, 1545–1558 (2018).
King, S. Recycling our way to sustainability. Nature 611, S7 (2022).
Syberg, K. Beware the false hope of recycling. Nature 611, S6 (2022).
Mikula, K. et al. 3D printing filament as a second life of waste plastics—a review. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 28, 12321–12333 (2021).
Cruz Sanchez, F. A., Boudaoud, H., Camargo, M. & Pearce, J. M. Plastic recycling in additive manufacturing: a systematic literature review and opportunities for the circular economy. J. Clean. Prod. 264, 121602 (2020).
DeWeerdt, S. How to make plastic less of an environmental burden. Nature 611, S2–S5 (2022).
Jiang, R., Kleer, R. & Piller, F. T. Predicting the future of additive manufacturing: a Delphi study on economic and societal implications of 3D printing for 2030. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change 117, 84–97 (2017).
Zuin, V. G. & Kümmerer, K. Chemistry and materials science for a sustainable circular polymeric economy. Nat. Rev. Mater. 7, 76–78 (2022).
de Oliveira, C. T. & Oliveira, G. G. A. What circular economy indicators really measure? An overview of circular economy principles and sustainable development goals. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 190, 106850 (2023).
Polverini, D. Regulating the circular economy within the ecodesign directive: progress so far, methodological challenges and outlook. Sustain. Prod. Consum. 27, 1113–1123 (2021).
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the Design Society (www.designsociety.org) for supporting and promoting the activities of its special interest groups (SIGs). This Perspective results from a collaboration between the Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) SIG and the Sustainable Design SIG.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
S.G., J.F., T.S., Y.B., N.M., S.I.H. and D.W.R. contributed equally to conceptualizing, drafting and revising the paper. S.G. coordinated the research team for the writing of the article.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Peer review
Peer review information
Nature Sustainability thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Graziosi, S., Faludi, J., Stanković, T. et al. A vision for sustainable additive manufacturing. Nat Sustain (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01313-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01313-x