Investigation of the Impact of Sustainability on 3D Printing Technologies

3D Printing technologies are becoming pervasive and used both in industry and in informal contexts like domestic self-production and craftsmanship 2.0. A large part of the current studies concerning 3D Printing aims at increasing the performance of processes, materials and devices; however, only few studies approach sustainable issues (i.e. printable eco-materials, distributed networks, etc.). 3D Printing instead could play a crucial role in the transition processes toward the so-called Sustainable Society, if linked with current Design for Sustainability approaches. The paper analyses current literature regarding 3D Printing and Design for Sustainability in order to identify new open research topics and re-think their impact and design roles for future sustainable applications. Specifically, the paper produces evidences linking 3D Printing technologies and Sustainability from the design point of view; it outlines a number of promising open cross-sectorial research topics that aims to anticipate the impacts and the evolution of future Sustainable 3D Printing technologies and new generation of democratic products and services for All.