Can 3-D Printing Go Green?

This article explores various advantages and disadvantages of 3D printing. As 3D printers have become smaller, less expensive, and easier to use, they have become increasingly popular. Additive manufacturing could make manufacturing more sustainable because it creates far less waste than traditional subtractive methods and because making products locally would shorten supply chains, reducing fuel use and carbon pollution from shipping. The researchers believe that 3D printing could ‘accelerate consumerism of nonbiodegradable throwaway plastic objects.’ Students have found that 3D printers use six common resin types: acrylates, thiols, alkenes, vinyl ethers, epoxides, and oxetanes. Acrylates, which the Ember printer uses, are the most common because they work well in a 3D printer and are considered safest for creating solid objects from liquids.