0000000000435393
AUTHOR
Paolo Claudio Priarone
Integrated WAAM-Subtractive Versus Pure Subtractive Manufacturing Approaches: An Energy Efficiency Comparison
Over the last years, additive manufacturing (AM) has been gathering momentum both in the academic and in the industrial world. Besides the obvious benefits in terms of flexibility and process capabilities, the environmental performance of such processes has still to be properly analyzed. Actually, the advantages of additive manufacturing over conventional processes are not obvious. Indeed, different manufacturing approaches result in different amounts of involved material and in different processing energy demands. Environmental comparative analyses are hence crucial to properly characterize AM processes. In this paper, an energetic comparison between the emerging wire arc additive manufact…
Towards criteria for sustainable process selection: On the modelling of pure subtractive versus additive/subtractive integrated manufacturing approaches
Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes can be counted among the disruptive technologies that are capable of transforming conventional manufacturing routes. The ability to create complex geometries, the reduction in material scraps during manufacturing, and the light-weighting due to the think-additive redesign of the components represent the main points of strength of AM. However, for some applications (such as the production of metal components for the automotive and aerospace industries), the surface finishing and dimensional/geometrical part tolerancing that can be achieved via AM processes might not be adequate to satisfy the imposed product specifications, and finish machining operation…
The Role of re-design for Additive Manufacturing on the Process Environmental Performance
Abstract At present, economic and technological design criteria for products and processes should be matched with the minimization of environmental impact objectives. Manufacturing, material production, and product design are strictly connected stages. The choice of a production system over another could result in significant material and energy/resource savings, particularly if the component has been properly designed for manufacturing. In this scenario, Additive Manufacturing, which has been identified as a potential disruptive technology, gained an increasing interest for the creation of complex metal parts. The paper focuses on the tools, based on the holistic modelling of additive and …
Guidelines to compare additive and subtractive manufacturing approaches under the energy demand perspective
In order to characterise the environmental performance of additive manufacturing (AM) processes, comparative analyses are required. Different manufacturing approaches (such as additive and subtractive ones), besides adopting different equipment, use different kinds and amounts of material. Therefore, the material-related flow has to be followed throughout the entire product life. Differences in environmental impact arise at each step of the life cycle: material production, manufacturing, use, disposal, and transportation. A life cycle-based methodology able to take due account of all the factors of influence on the total energy demand for the production of metal components is given in this …
Sustainability for 3DP Operations
Sustainability is an essential consideration in manufacturing, and within this chapter a detailed appraisal is given to sustainability for 3D printing. An in-depth review of existing research is provided, and a cradle-to-grave assessment technique is shown to assess the environmental impact of 3D printed part.
Environmental modelling of aluminium based components manufacturing routes: Additive manufacturing versus machining versus forming
Abstract Additive Manufacturing represents, by now, a viable alternative for metal-based components production. Therefore the designer, often, has to select among three options at process design stage: subtractive, mass conserving, and additive approaches. The selection of a given process, besides affecting the manufacturing step impact, influences significantly the impact related to the material production step. If the process enables a part weight reduction (as the Additive Manufacturing approaches do) even the use phase is affected by the manufacturing approach selection. The present research provides a comprehensive environmental manufacturing approaches comparison for components made o…
Influence of Material-Related Aspects of Additive and Subtractive Ti-6Al-4V Manufacturing on Energy Demand and Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Summary The additive manufacturing of metal parts represents a promising process that could be used alongside traditional manufacturing methods. The research scenario in this field is still largely unexplored, as far as the technological solutions adopted to integrate different processes are concerned and in terms of environmental and economic impact assessment. In this article, an electron beam melting (EBM) process and a machining process have been analyzed and compared using a cradle-to-grave life cycle–based approach. The production of components made of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy has been assumed as a case study. The proposed methodology is able to account for all of the main factors of influ…
Tuning Decision Support Toolsfor Environmentally Friendly Manufacturing Approach Selection
Awareness about the environmental performance of manufacturing approaches has arisen. Comparative analyses of different manufacturing approaches as well as decision support methods should be developed in the field of metal shaping processes. The present paper aims at tuning a decision support tool for identifying when mass conserving approaches (forming based) are actually preferable over machining processes for manufacturing aluminum based components. A full LCA is developed for comparing the environmental performance of forming and machining approaches as the batch size and geometry complexity hang. The impact of the used metric on the comparative results is analyzed. Results reveal that …
A comparative assessment of energy demand and life cycle costs for additive- and subtractive-based manufacturing approaches
Abstract The applicability domain of Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes, apart from technological and quality results, relies on environmental and cost performance. These aspects still need to be better understood. To this aim, comparative analyses with conventional manufacturing routes are needed. In this paper, empirical cost and energy requirement models are suggested to assess subtractive- (machining) and additive- (Electron Beam Melting) based manufacturing approaches for the production of Ti-6Al-4V components. A life-cycle perspective is adopted, and all the steps from the input material production to the post-AM processing operations and the use phase are included. The analyses ha…
A methodology for evaluating the influence of batch size and part geometry on the environmental performance of machining and forming processes
Metallic material processing plays a significant role in terms of global environmental impact. As a result, energy- and resource-efficient strategies in the metal shaping technology domain need to be identified urgently. Recently, the scientific world has been paying more and more attention to the environmental impact analysis of manufacturing processes. Despite this increased attention, the state of the art in the domain of environmental impact analysis of metal shaping processes is still characterized by gaps in knowledge and in methodologies. In particular, metal forming processes are still not well documented, in terms of their environmental impact, and there is a lack of systematic and…
Assessment of Cost and Energy Requirements of Electron Beam Melting (EBM) and Machining Processes
Additive Manufacturing is under the spotlight as potential disruptive technology, particularly for the production of complex-shaped structural metallic components. However, the actual AM process capabilities present some limitations in achieving the strict part quality requirements imposed by the aerospace and automotive sectors. Therefore, the integration of AM and conventional manufacturing represents an emerging scenario to be investigated. In this paper, a pure machining process and a hybrid production route (based on EBM and finish machining) are compared. The influence of material usage-related factors on costs and energy demand is discussed. The results prove that, despite precise pr…
Environmental Comparison between a Hot Extrusion Process and Conventional Machining Processes through a Life Cycle Assessment Approach
Nowadays manufacturing technologies have to be evaluated not only for the technical features they can provide to products, but also considering the environmental perspective as well. As long as the technological feasibility of a given process is guaranteed, processes minimizing resources and energy consumption have to be selected for manufacturing. With respect to this topic, the research studies in the domain of metal processing technologies predominantly focus on conventional material removal processes as milling and turning. Despite some exceptions, many other non-machining technologies, such as metal forming processes, are still not well documented in terms of their energy and resource …
Subtractive versus mass conserving metal shaping technologies: an environmental impact comparison
The scientific studies in the domain of environmental sustainability of metal processing technologies predominantly focus on conventional material removal processes, as milling and turning. Despite some exceptions, many other non-machining technologies, such as metal forming processes, are still not well documented in terms of their energy and resource efficiency. Moreover, to properly evaluate the environmental impact of a given process, a standing-alone approach is no longer sufficient. In order to offer a valuable contribution in the domain of metal shaping sustainability, the present paper proposes a thorough methodology entailing to compare, from the environmental point of view, two tr…
Benchmarking the sustainable manufacturing paradigm via automatic analysis and clustering of scientific literature: A perspective from Italian technologists
Abstract The number of scientific papers in the field of Sustainable Manufacturing (SM) shows a strong growth of interest in this topic in the last 20 years. Despite this huge number of publications, a clear statement of the profound meaning of Sustainable Manufacturing, or at least a strong theoretical support, is still missing. The 6R framework seems to be a first attempt to rationalize this issue, as it is an axiomatic identification of its true nature. Recognizing the pursuing of one or more of the Reduce-Recycle-Reuse-Recover-Redesign-Remanufacture principles allows users to identify if any manufacturing action is in the right direction of sustainability. In the paper, the authors spec…
On the impact of recycling strategies on energy demand and CO2 emissions when manufacturing Al-based components
Abstract The industrial world is facing the challenge of reducing emissions by means of energy- and resource-efficient manufacturing strategies. In some cases, the exerted emissions and the energy demands related to conventional manufacturing processes are not as intensive as those required to extract and produce the raw materials of which the workpieces are made. Therefore, the consciousness of the impact of material usage and the eco-informed choice of the end-of-life scenarios are both needed in view of sustainable development. Aim of this paper is to offer a contribution to a better understanding of the environmental impact of forming and machining processes, for the production of Al-ba…