Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences Technology

Nowadays, in this volatile post-Covid era, there is an urgent need to develop new and more sustainable production models. The role of industrial production is crucial as it influences the EU economic resilience, it has a significant footprint on the environment while greatly affecting the social well-being of EU citizens. 3D printing is an expanding additive manufacturing technology with many applications in various industrial sectors. It involves the layer-by-layer fabrication of products through a CAD model or a 3D scanner output. The integration of 3D printing into the production process is increasingly attracting the interest of stakeholders. 3D printing technology provides access and participation in the production process to both producers and end-consumers. Despite the multitude of challenges, 3D printing is gaining ground, paving the way for innovative production while promising to promote a new model of sustainable industrialization.

The main question raised is whether 3D printing technology is a more sustainable production process in relation to the conventional production model. Can 3D print play a role to the reduction of the industrial environmental footprint? Is 3D printing able to contribute to the development of circular economy and the democratization of production, leading to a new model of sustainable industrialization? What applies so far and how does it respond to the new challenges in relation to the conventional production model? Which are the 3D printing dimensions affecting its sustainability?

This review paper makes an important contribution to the growing area of research on the impact of additive manufacturing, identifying and proposing a new categorization of the factors that affect the sustainability of production through 3D printing. Selected case studies are presented to describe and clarify the literature references. The goal of this review is to investigate whether 3D printing is already or could be a better and more reliable production procedure in the near future, in line with the three pillars of Sustainable Development.