Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association commissions first research project
The Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association (AMGTA), a USA-based green trade group to promote Additive Manufacturing, founded by Sintavia in November 2019, has appointed Jeremy Faludi, PhD, a leading researcher in sustainable engineering, to oversee its first commissioned university research project, a literature-based systematic review on the environmental sustainability of metal AM.
The AMGTA promotes the environmental benefits of AM over traditional methods of manufacturing. It is a non-commercial, unaffiliated organisation and is open to any AM user or industry stakeholder that meets certain criteria relating to the sustainability of their production or process.
Dr Faludi, LEED AP BD+C, is a sustainable design strategist and researcher and Assistant Professor of Design Engineering at the Technical University of Delft, the Netherlands, where he specialises in design for the circular economy and green Additive Manufacturing and is adjunct faculty of engineering at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College.
Dr Faludi has taught at Stanford University, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and earned a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California Berkeley, a Master of Engineering in Product Design at Stanford University, and a B.A. in Physics from Reed College.
“We are excited to announce our first research project and thrilled to be able to work with Dr Faludi,” stated Sherry Handel, the AMGTA’s Executive Director. “This project will provide our membership and the public in general with an excellent survey of existing research on the sustainability benefits of AM. Dr Faludi is a renowned researcher within this field, and we are looking forward to understanding better the existing scope of research on this topic.”
The AMGTA’s first commissioned research paper will be comprised of a literature review of existing studies “describing where metal Additive Manufacturing provides environmental benefits compared to older manufacturing methods,” explained Handel.
“This research may also reveal areas in the manufacturing process where AM could cause higher environmental impacts than older manufacturing methods,” she continued. “Through rigorous, independent and ongoing research, the AMGTA will publish research findings and share with industry and other key stakeholders what our eco-footprint is now and what we will need to focus on in the future to be more sustainable.”
