Circular economy through customised 3D printed products: A case of souvenir

Abstract

Nowadays, the circular economy model is basically built on the efficient use of resources and the maximization of the product’s lifetime as long as possible, by recovering, reusing and recycling existing materials and products. Comparing circular economy with the new trend of customized products, there is an opportunity for the production of personalized products with less associated environmental costs. As a key factor can be considered the 3D printing technology, which is already widely accessible, offering customisable possibilities without expensive tooling based on individual specifications. Furthermore, the opportunity for recycling and degradation of different plastic materials and the creation of a filament for 3D printers has large impact on the product life cycle. The aim of this study is to highlight the management of recyclable plastic by creating new customized products. Souvenir industry has been chosen as a representative example which covers a big number of different products offering simultaneously a mass customized character.

Synergy between the circular economy and 3D printing

“…Fundamentally, the commonality among all these processes and technologies is the way manufacturing takes place in an additive process, layer by layer, as opposed to conventional manufacturing methods, which include material removal methods or molding/casting processes. 3D printing can be defined as structuring of a three-dimensional object in its physical configuration from its digital form, which turns the virtual model into a physical object by successively applying layers of material (The Engineering Projects, 2021, Firtkiadis, 2022, Shahrubudin, 2019, EU, 2021. 3D printing is also known as additive manufacturing which involves applying a specific material layer by layer to form a 3D shape or structure.…”