Benefits of Non-Planar Printing Strategies Towards Eco-Efficient 3D Printing

Adrián Martínez Cendrero, Gabriele Maria Fortunato, Juan Manuel Munoz-Guijosa, Carmelo De Maria and Andrés Díaz Lantada
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Adrián Martínez Cendrero: Product Development Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28003 Madrid, Spain
Gabriele Maria Fortunato: Centro di Ricerca Enrico Piaggio and Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Juan Manuel Munoz-Guijosa: Product Development Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28003 Madrid, Spain
Carmelo De Maria: Centro di Ricerca Enrico Piaggio and Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Andrés Díaz Lantada: Product Development Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering Department, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28003 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: The present work focuses on studying and demonstrating the potential benefits of non-planar printing, as compared to conventional 3D printing, in terms of improved eco-impacts. To this end, a case study of a medical or ergonomic device, which may benefit from non-planar printing in different ways, is completely developed and manufactured employing alternative approaches, which are quantified, as regards production costs and environmental impacts. Three 3D printing processes are used: two of them relying on non-planar printing, one using conventional 2D printing trajectories. Relevant benefits are achieved thanks to the possibility, enabled by non-planar 3D printing, of manufacturing products upon reusable rapid tools. These support tools constitute an interesting alternative to the support meshes generally employed in additive manufacturing, which are normally a relevant source of waste and involve costly post-processes.

Keywords: 3D printing; non-planar printing; eco-impacts; eco-efficiency; additive manufacturing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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