Sustainability Assessment of Products manufactured by the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) Process

Abstract

Assessing the sustainability of a product is dependent on considering individual product life cycle data. Based on the information on material, energy and information flows, evaluation tools such as the life cycle assessment (LCA) or the calculation of the cumulative energy consumption can be used. Especially the methodology of LCA according to ISO 14040/44 allows a selection of alternative analysis and measurement cycles as well as a combination of impact assessment indicators that have a direct and significant influence on sustainability. The comparison of various manufacturing processes allows the identification of relations between the applied evaluation tools and the product- as well as process-specific parameters during the production phase, and throughout the entire product life cycle. Within the various case studies considered, a distinction can be made both between the definition and the indicators of sustainability and between the ecological, economic or social dimensions within the motivation formulated. This paper describes the results of the literature review on the sustainability assessment of additive manufacturing processes in general as well as the Laser Powder Bed Fusion process as an example. A research map shows which phases of the product life cycle of an additive manufactured component are considered and which methods can be used to assess their sustainability. The result is a summary of the state of the art regarding the methods of sustainability assessment of additive manufacturing processes. In addition, an outlook can be determined on how the different phases of the product life cycle can be evaluated with tools that currently receive less attention.