CIRCULAR ECONOMY ADOPTION WITHIN 3D PRINTING INDUSTRY: THE STATE OF THE ART, MAJOR ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
Angelina Rayside1, Boppana Chowdary2* and Prasanta Dey 3
1,2Faculty of Engineering, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad
3Aston Business School, Aston University, UK
1Email: angelina.rayside@my.uwi.edu
2Email: boppana.chowdary@sta.uwi.edu* (Corresponding author)
3Email: p.k.dey@aston.ac.uk
Abstract.
There is a growing realisation in the international community that economic development and environmental conservation must achieve a balance to enable future generations to survive and prosper as we exist on a planet of finite resources. Circular Economy (CE) has emerged as a paradigm shift to assist in attaining this balance. It has been argued that industry can achieve CE through five phases – take, make, distribute, use and recover i.e. converting their linear business processes (take, make and distribute) to circular. 3D printing/Additive Manufacturing (AM) industry is developing speedily and it could potentially involve trillions of dollars in business over the coming decades. 3D printing inadvertently achieves some of the most urgent environmental and resource goals facing the global industry. For example, the transportation and manufacturing carbon footprint of many products could be reduced as design, rather than products, is shipped. Further, 3D Printers will manufacture personalized products locally and only on demand. Moreover, with developments in bio-based ‘smart’ materials, the 3D printing process itself can lead to significant material savings. The promise of 3D printing with bio-materials is that it can create a fully sustainable and circular manufacturing process. The literature indicates that the 3D printing industry can contribute various parts of the circular economy system: especially in maintenance, re-use, re-manufacturing and re-cycling of products and goods. Though there is evidence in other manufacturing processes, literature on 3D printing industry adoption of CE is scanty. As the 3D printing industry has the promise to become the clear winner in realising a sustainable CE, the main objective of this paper is to identify the major issues and challenges of each phase of CE. The outcome of the study gives the way forward to the most urgent environmental and resource constraints facing the product suppliers scattered around the globe.
Keywords: 3D printing, Additive manufacturing, Circular economy, Re-cycling, Re-manufacturing
https://doi.org/10.47412/EZCQ1118
