HOLLYWOOD, FLA.-- September 24, 2021 -- The Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association (AMGTA), a global trade group created to promote the environmental benefits of additive manufacturing (AM), announced today that it had established the Sustainability of Additive Manufacturing Research Fund, a $100,000 fund which will support research at Yale School of the Environment’s Center for Industrial Ecology. More specifically, the fund will support researchers examining the sustainability benefits of additive manufacturing using life-cycle assessment (LCA) tools and modeling.

“This new fund will be used to conduct LCA research that compares several conventionally manufactured metal industrial parts with those designed and manufactured via the binder jet additive manufacturing process,” said Sherry Handel, AMGTA’s Executive Director. “The goal of this research is to understand the environmental and economic impacts of binder jetting compared to conventional manufacturing. Using LCA tools and modeling, the research will characterize impacts related to emissions of principal greenhouse gases and other associated impacts. Through robust and independent research studies, the AMGTA will continue to publish research reports that evaluate environmental sustainability within the additive manufacturing industry.”

The research report is expected to be published in the fall of 2022 and the key findings will be announced at that time.

Binder jet additive manufacturing is a method of 3D printing in which a digital file is used to quickly inkjet a binder into a bed of powder particles—such as metal, sand, or ceramic—to create a solid part, one thin layer at a time. When printing metals, the final bound metal part must be sintered in a furnace to fuse the particles together into a solid object.

About AMGTA. The AMGTA was launched in November 2019 to promote the environmental benefits of additive manufacturing (AM) over traditional methods of manufacturing. The AMGTA is a non-commercial, unaffiliated organization open to any additive manufacturer or industry stakeholder that meets certain criteria relating to sustainability of production or process.

About the Center for Industrial Ecology. The Center for Industrial Ecology at the Yale School of the Environment was established in September 1998 to provide an organizational focus for research in industrial ecology. The Center brings together Yale staff, students, visiting scholars, and practitioners to develop new knowledge at the forefront of the field. Research is carried out in collaboration with other segments of the Yale community, other academic institutions, and international partners.