Life Cycle Assessment and Design of Sustainable Additive Manufacturing
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Products and Services".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 45
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Metal components are traditionally manufactured using traditional forging, casting, and machining processes, often requiring the assembly of different sub-components to achieve complex final geometries. These processes are not only rigid and expensive, but can involve several environmental problems (pollution due to the chemical dissociation of the lubri-coolant at high cutting temperatures, water and soil contamination during disposal) and problems related to the health of workers (according to estimates from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, 1.2 million workers worldwide have been exposed to the harmful effects of lubricants, causing chronic bronchitis, asthma, chest pain and respiratory irritation). In order to create parts that can satisfy the demands of the manufacturing sector, researchers have endeavored to create more adaptable and cost-effective production methods. The capacity of metal-based Additive Manufacturing (AM) methods to directly build components with varying degrees of complexity has garnered interest in recent years. Their numerous benefits, including low buy-to-fly ratios, minimal energy consumption, and capacity to rapidly create and produce complexly shaped components, have led to their widespread use in a wide range of industries. However, most of these processes have not been explored, especially regarding the most complex materials.
Therefore, this Special Issue will focus on the challenges associated with sustainable additive manufacturing, focusing on the production of efficient components (without defects and with mechanical and microstructural characteristics equal to those produced in a traditional way) with a low environmental impact. We will also address the transformation of waste into raw materials for reuse and reductions in the use of energy of.
In this Special Issue, we welcome the submission of original research articles and reviews. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:
- LCA and LCC analysis of sustainable additive technologies;
- Cradle-to-Grave analysis of components in “difficult-to-cut” materials produced using additive techniques compared to traditional techniques;
- Recycling of waste for the production of raw materials;
- Reduction of energy costs in the production of high-efficiency components.
I look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Vincenzo Tebaldo
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- additive manufacturing
- energy requirement
- sustainable process
- LCA analysis
- “difficult-to-cut” materials
- recycling waste
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