Toward Sustainable 3D Printing

INTRODUCTION:DISRUPTION OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING Additive manufacturing(AM),also called 3D printing(3DP),is expected to disrupt the way we fabricate and conceive object and devices,creating a new future for the manufacturing industry.1 Indeed,AM is now shifting from being used for rapid prototyping and research to mass production.The main reasons in favor of the development of 3DP technologies for large-scale fabrication are(i)the automation of the process that reduces the need of manpower in fabrication plants,(ii)the possibility of fabricating customized parts and therefore a large range of products using one machine,(iii)the diversity and complexity of the shapes as compared to standard processes,and(iv)the reduced amount of waste as compared to substrative fabrication methods.Furthermore,digitalization and computer-aided design allow fast knowledge transfer between fabrication sites,thereby reducing costs,transport,and packaging.