Material Selection and Environmental Impact Assessment of 3D Printing Wrenches

The emerging field of additive manufacturing, specifically fused deposition 3D printing and modeling, empowers individuals to design custom products to suit certain specifications and requirements. For instance, common mechanical tools such as the wrench can be redesigned using 3D printing to innovate its use and functions. However, selecting the best material for prototype fabrication of these types of tools is often difficult to perform because of the different factors of various materials that may influence the quality of the final product. A systematic material selection method is therefore proposed using the analytical hierarchical process to resolve these challenges and select the ideal material for 3D printing a custom wrench. A cradle-to-gate life cycle impact assessment is also conducted to evaluate the environmental impacts of the wrench and the chosen material. Among the four prospective materials for 3D printing a wrench, carbon fiber and PETG filaments were ranked first and second, respectively. However, due to printer limitations, the PETG material was used to fabricate the wrench prototype. Results show that the PETG material has a minimal impact on ten out of eighteen environmental factors making it suitable for sustainable manufacturing processes. Moreover, optimizing the design further reduces environmental impacts as it reduces material usage and printing time. This research encourages future studies to consider the environmental implications of materials in fabrication to achieve more sustainable products and foster eco-friendly practices in the manufacturing industry.