The Intersection of Nanomaterials and 3D Printing

Research on the environmental impacts of 3D printing has shown strong evidence of emissions into the surrounding air. Recently, nanomaterial additives have also been incorporated into 3D printing feedstocks. However, the impacts of nanomaterial additives on 3D printer emissions and release into the environment is not fully understood. In this short talk, I will speak about my previous research in both nanomaterial fabrication and 3D printing’s impact on indoor air quality and the intersection of these two fields.

Impact/Purpose

Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printers have been shown to produce emissions that consist of particles that are released from the heated feedstock material as it is pushed through the printer's nozzle to create a 3D object. The majority of these particles have been consistently found to be ultrafine in size (less than 100 nm in physical diameter) and released on the order of millions to billions of particles per minute. In addition, the use of nanomaterials has increased substantially in the last few years and is projected to continue, including in the creation of polymer composites for 3D printing. Recent research has shown that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) embedded in 3D printed polymers have been found in aerosolized ultrafine particles released during the 3D printing process. The fate of other nanomaterials embedded in polymer composites used in 3D printing is unknown.

Citation

Byrley, P. The Intersection of Nanomaterials and 3D Printing. Society for Risk Analysis Research Triangle Regional Organization Lightning Round, Morrisville, NC, April 30, 2021.