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3D Printing and the Circular Economy Part 7: the Viability of 3D Printing

Circular Economy Cycle

It is important to address that waste is less of an issue when a mindset is adopted towards solving it. I make this disclaimer because as we have been looking into this series on the circular economy, we have initially outlined various ideals and thought processes opposed to focusing solely on 3D printing. Any mindset shift towards a more circular economy is necessary before we can utilize a technology to build towards this ideal. 

3D printing is a great technology due to its ability to be an additive process versus a typical subtractive process that is found in most manufacturing environments. In this article, we will discuss a bit more on the implications of additive technology and other initiatives associated with it. This will help us to have a larger view of the circular economy as well in relation to additive manufacturing. 

Additive technology is amazing in terms of waste reduction overall. When a technical system is built to create product based on building up, there is a larger ability for sustainable development as people print items as they need them. With a subtractive manufacturing process, products are created by taking away from larger materials. This can leave many pieces unusable after the initial product creation. This then leaves a product residue to either be thrown away or in need of further recycling. This then takes a lot of time to conduct, and it becomes an issue of efficiency within the circular economy framework. Not only does this process waste time, but one must now calculate other factors such as transporting residual waste and how much energy that consumes. There are a lot of factors that do not have deeper analysis in terms of the classical manufacturing process.

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3D Printing Waste

The additive manufacturing field is ripe for experimentation as it is a naturally disruptive concept and methodology. A very important thought process within the field currently is a focus on material development. Material development is essential when it comes to sustainability. Depending on polymer structures, we can build various materials that have specific properties that are of our liking. This can lead to materials that are also easier to recycle, as well as they have natural biodegradable properties. It is still important to build out a larger infrastructure of life that would lead to people actually being knowledgeable of their choices and how they affect the greater world. Although 3D printing inherently helps to prevent excess production, it is still a problem of lack of awareness for people in terms of their production and consumption rates. There are a large number of people making prototypes that fail in terms of print standards. This then leads to larger amounts of waste as well. 

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Material Development

In terms of sustainability, additive manufacturing is better than traditional methods. It is still imperative to realize that we are at a loss in terms of sustainability if we are not working on infrastructures. This includes infrastructures of thinking as well as infrastructures of methodology. We must utilize technology such as 3D printing to benefit the world. We should not abuse the benefits that this technology can provide to the larger scale of humanity.

The post 3D Printing and the Circular Economy Part 7: the Viability of 3D Printing appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

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Interview with Haleyanne Freedman of M. Holland Company

Haleyanne Freedman

Haleyanne Freedman is a Business Development and Engineering Professional with a demonstrated history of working in a variety of industries; she specializes in Additive Manufacturing. She has accumulated skills in application development, material specification and design for additive manufacturing. She currently is the Global 3D Printing Specialist at M. Holland Company.

Give us some background on your experience and how you got to this point?

I used to be in subtractive manufacturing. I wanted to work on machining, but I was with a company that was buying 3D Printers and then I learned more additive manufacturing. Then I got 7 3D printers on my own in my house.

M Holland

Explain what you do at M. Holland Company?

Traditionally, M. Holland Company works within the traditional manufacturing realm. They create resins. They wanted to get into the industry of 3D Printers. They then brought me in to reformulate the strategy for this particular field. We help teach engineering and design. We help molders with so much of their applications.

What are the biggest roadblocks?

Some people and organizations  in the field are focused solely on the sales and marketing. It is difficult in my position to have people marketing things in a non practical way. It forces people to give up and their expectations are now demolished. It is important to focus on things that are actually realistic.  

In terms of business development, how should classical manufacturing companies leverage 3D printing and additive manufacturing?

In our experience people have success when they educate themselves before they buy a printer. A lot of people will buy before they research. When you purchase your printer, you should allow everyone to use it. This causes all of your engineering team to not have knowledge on this. It is important for all the engineers to have skills in the actual machines. No one does this in classical manufacturing, so we should not do so in additive manufacturing. Adoption time increase when you have other people all working on printers in house. This still benefits companies in terms of future costs saved. It is important to have multiple people skilled on a technology. It must be a team effort and cross training is extremely vital. People and other organizations are also underestimating the value of 3D Printing. The companies that are saving millions are the people who have a printer on every engineer’s desk.

Women in Manufacturing

Which industries are the most open for disruption in terms of additive manufacturing?

I think custom molding is incredibly open to it. There are still companies paying 40,000 dollars per mold. Most of these molds could be created with 3D printing. It is still materials dependent. The people who buy parts must realize the benefit. Most parts need to be isotropic. There is an entire world that has yet to be put into use.

Talk about your involvement as the Vice Chair at Women in Manufacturing as well as women in 3D Printing.

I’m chairperson for Women in 3D Printing in Chicago. For Women in Manufacturing, I was concerned about why Madison, Wisconsin did not have a branch here with so many manufacturers as this is a nationwide organization. We had a huge conversation and panel discussion with various people here. We have 75 members consistently. Women in 3D Printing is new to everyone. It is a nonprofit that started a year ago. There are less people in this organization. It is more about are you in 3D printing and do you want to be in the sector.

Women in 3D Printing

How does one tackle the skills gap that is prevalent and lacking from people within diverse backgrounds?

It is really dumb that people didn’t tell me I could be in manufacturing as a child. I think that is wrong. People brush manufacturing off as a dirty industry. It is a nice, lucrative, and non-dirty industry. It is useful for all people. The skills learned in this sector are great and they translate to different areas of career growth. We have to change our minds on what people can do. We should not be limited in our abilities.

What are those barriers to access?

In my mind a lot of them are starting to change. There are a lot of 3D Printers in highschools. You can buy a 3D Printer for a cheaper means. I can see things change due to the fact that this technology is tangible. Mindset is the biggest one. The physical nature of this is changing everyday.