3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is a technology that creates physical objects from digital models by depositing layers of material on top of each other. It has been widely used for prototyping, product development, and customization in various industries, such as aerospace, automotive, healthcare, and education. But did you know that 3D printing can also contribute to sustainability, the practice of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs?
In this article, we will explore how 3D printing is contributing to sustainability, including its use in creating more efficient renewable energy components and recycling materials.
3D Printing and Renewable Energy
Renewable energy is energy that comes from natural sources that are constantly replenished, such as solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass. Renewable energy is a key solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing energy security, and diversifying energy sources. However, renewable energy also faces some challenges, such as high costs, low efficiency, and intermittency.
3D printing can help overcome these challenges by enabling the design and production of more efficient, customized, and innovative renewable energy components. For example, 3D printing can be used to create complex and lightweight structures for wind turbine blades, solar panels, and wave energy converters, which can improve their performance and reduce their material and transportation costs. 3D printing can also be used to create novel geometries and materials for heat exchangers, fuel cells, and batteries, which can enhance their thermal and electrical properties and extend their lifespan.
Some examples of 3D printing applications in renewable energy are:
- Siemens Energy is using 3D printing to optimize the materials, design, and digitalization of gas turbine components, which can increase their temperature and load resistance, reduce their emissions, and integrate them with renewable energy sources.
- Colorado State University is leading a project that uses 3D printing to make fiber-reinforced composites for novel internal wind blade structures, which can increase their strength, stiffness, and durability.
- Vitraglyphic and Prometal are developing 3D printing processes for glass and metal materials, which can be used to create solar concentrators, photovoltaics, and thermoelectrics with higher efficiency and lower cost.
- CorPower Ocean is using 3D printing to create wave energy converters that mimic the motion of the human heart, which can increase their power output and survivability in harsh ocean conditions.
- Nanyang Technological University is using 3D printing to create advanced biofuels from waste biomass, which can reduce the carbon footprint and land use impacts of conventional biofuels.
3D Printing and Recycling
3D printing can also contribute to sustainability by reducing the amount of waste and raw materials used in manufacturing. 3D printing is a low-waste process, as it only uses the material that is needed to create the object, unlike subtractive manufacturing methods that remove material from a larger block. 3D printing can also use recycled materials, either from other industries or from its own waste, to create new objects.
Some examples of 3D printing applications in recycling are:
- PETG and PLA are two common types of 3D printing filaments that are recyclable. PETG is derived from PET, the same material used for plastic bottles, and PLA is derived from plant starch, which makes it biodegradable and compostable. Both filaments can be reused by using a filament extruder, a device that melts and reshapes the waste material into a new filament.
- Glassomer and Vitrimers are two types of 3D printing materials that are made from recycled glass. Glassomer is a composite of glass powder and polymer, which can be 3D printed and then sintered to create pure glass objects. Vitrimers are a type of glassy polymer that can be 3D printed and then reshaped and recycled indefinitely .
- Recyclebot and ReFab are two examples of 3D printers that can use recycled plastic pieces as feedstock, without the need for a filament extruder. Recyclebot is a low-cost and open-source device that can melt and extrude plastic waste into a filament or directly into a 3D printed object. ReFab is a research project that aims to create a 3D printer that can scan, shred, and print plastic waste into new objects.
- Reflow and Filamentive are two examples of 3D printing filament companies that use recycled materials to create their products. Reflow uses plastic waste collected from developing countries, such as PET bottles, to create high-quality and socially responsible filaments. Filamentive uses post-industrial and post-consumer waste, such as ABS, PLA, and PETG, to create eco-friendly and high-performance filaments.
Conclusion
3D printing is a technology that can create physical objects from digital models by depositing layers of material on top of each other. 3D printing can contribute to sustainability by enabling the design and production of more efficient, customized, and innovative renewable energy components, and by reducing the amount of waste and raw materials used in manufacturing. 3D printing can also use recycled materials, either from other industries or from its own waste, to create new objects. 3D printing is a match made in tech heaven for sustainability, as it offers a clean, efficient, and creative way of making things.
