Life Cycle Assessment for AM Powder Manufacturing

Conference Abstract: Sustainability is a hot topic with growing interest across industries. As it should be, Additive manufacturing is perceived as a sustainable alternative to conventional manufacturing. But is AM sustainable across the board? AM powder manufacturing is one area that may not be the most environmentally friendly. Foresight Management has completed the first Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for AM powder manufacturing where they did a deep dive into microwave plasma production process versus atomization for titanium and nickel powders. The LCA provides visibility into the energy, carbon and environmental impacts associated with these products. In this presentation Foresight Management will discuss their process and methodology for creating this LCA and will go through high level findings.

Agenda:
1. What is an LCA and why is relevant
2. Overview of LCA process from raw materials to end of life
3. Review of established baseline footprint of current manufacturing processes
4. Impact assessment with the ISO 14040 and 14044 standards
5. Climate impact results and conclusions