Comparison analysis of energy consumption of atomic diffusion additive manufacturing with sand casting: Towards a more sustainable future

Over the years, the cumulative environmental impact from human activity has disrupted the stability of the natural world, warming the planet above pre-industrial levels. Whilst unprecedented in many ways, reducing industrial emissions from greenhouse gases could help stabilise rising temperatures. Thus, the exploration for more sustainable manufacturing solutions that reduce carbon emissions is imperative. However, some traditional manufacturing (TM) processes, such as sand casting, which, despite its versatility to produce products in many shapes and sizes from almost any metal or alloy, are typically energy-intensive activities. Conversely, metal additive manufacturing (MAM) enables users to manufacture more complex, lighter and near net shapes with the ability to consolidate manufacturing workflows. Consequently, MAM has been reported to be an energy-efficient alternative. Yet, evidence in the literature on the environmental impact of some MAM processes is limited, especially for material extrusion (ME) additive manufacturing (AM) methods such as the atomic diffusion additive manufacturing (ADAM) process. Thus, this paper explores the feasibility of performing a life cycle assessment (LCA) for the ADAM process compared to sand casting. Preliminary results indicate that the ADAM process demands 71.04 kWh/kg and 16.57 CO2 equivalent (CO2−eq) more for manufacturing 1kg of 17-4 precipitation hardened stainless steel (17-4 PH SS) compared to sand casting. Thus, the findings collected from this pilot study justify future research efforts to converge on developing a novel model for performing a comprehensive cradle to grave LCA for ADAM to compare against sand casting and other TM processes such as CNC milling and investment casting.