Investigation of CO₂ Emissions Related to the 3D-Printing of Polymeric Materials

Department of Industrial Management & Technology, University of Piraeus, 18534, Piraeus, Greece

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

In the perspective of a sustainable development, it is important the use of innovative processes in the production sector. 3D Printing and FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) are modern manufacturing technologies with increasing fields of application as it offers flexibility, speed and cost efficiency. At the same time, the application of 3D printing technology aims to reduce the energy consumption and CO₂ emissions in the manufacturing sector. The current research investigates the CO₂ emissions of an FDM 3D printer during the fabrication of polymeric components under different process parameters. Five different polymeric materials (ABS, PLA, PEBA, CARBON-FIBER and NYLON), widely used in the industry sector, were studied. Four different 3D printing parameters (printing temperature, infill density, initial layer angle and printing speed) together with the required each time bed temperature were also studied for each material. It was found that printing temperature and initial layer angle has no significant effect on the CO₂ emissions. On the other hand, by reducing the printing speed or by increasing the infill density and the bed temperature the CO2 emissions are increasing.