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gested as reducing the need for long-distance transport with associated costs and
carbon emissions.
3D printers have also been cited as
potentially extending the product life
cycle because of their ability to repair
and print replacement parts (with recycled materials) and upcycle old products
into transformed ones.
Finally, some advocates argue that 3D
printers could help reduce global economic imbalances as developing countries could, for example, print their own
medical prosthetics, energy generation
equipment etc far more economically.
Other 3D printing experts, such
as Timothy Gutowski, Professor
of Mechanical Engineering, at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), is less convinced, however.
"While there are some interesting applications, there is a lack of strong evidence
or research that suggests that 3D printing is going to lead to a more widespread
sustainable society, in fact in some cases,
it may have the opposite effect," he says.
Gutowski supports this with an example: "It is very easy to combine mixtures and customise 3D products but it
becomes much more difficult to break up
such a product for recycling purposes".
Likewise, one may create another waste
problem if everybody starts printing out
3D objects without thinking it through.
Felix Preston, research fellow at
Chatham House, adds further to the
debate: "Given the range of possible
materials, printing methods and applications, there is no guarantee that [3D printing] will lead to greener production and
