Evaluating the environmental impact of additive manufacturing: A methodology to determine the environmental impact of parts manufactured by high-speed laser directed energy deposition

High-speed laser directed energy deposition is an additive manufacturing process that offers great potential for industrial applications due to its high process speeds. To mitigate the climate crisis, it is important to consider the energy and material demand, as well as the resulting greenhouse gas emissions of products. However, for new and emerging technologies such as high-speed laser directed energy deposition, there is a lack of analysis regarding the environmental impact throughout the entire process chain. In order to analyze and exploit efficiency potentials at an early stage, it is necessary to assess the environmental impact of parts prior to production. Thus, this paper presents a methodology for developing a customized model that enable the prediction of the part-specific environmental impact. The methodology includes the entire process chain from raw material extraction, powder production, additive manufacturing, to post-processing. Through its three-level structure, which includes an information query, individual databases, and calculation models, this approach allows in-depth analysis of the environmental impact and its causal composition prior to production, thus enabling the identification and direct realization of potentials for the reducing environmental impact.