Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Novel Materials Can Radically Improve Whole-System Environmental Impacts Of Additive Manufacturing, Jeremy Faludi, Cory M. Van Sice, Yuan Shi, Justin Bower, Owen M.K Brooks

Dartmouth Scholarship

Additive manufacturing often has higher environmental impacts per part than traditional manufacturing at scale, but new materials can enable more sustainable 3D printing. This study developed and tested novel materials for paste extrusion printing, and tested materials invented by others. Testing compared their whole-system environmental impacts to standard ABS extrusion, measured by life cycle assessment (LCA); testing also assessed material strength, printability, and cost. Materials were chosen for low print energy (chemical bonding, not melting), low toxicity, and circular life cycle (biodegradable, ideally sourced from waste biomaterial). Printing energy was reduced 75% (from 160 to 40 Wh/part), and embodied impacts …