3D printing for repair
Design tools and methods for printed spare parts by manufacturers and consumers
A.A. van Oudheusden (TU Delft - Design for Sustainability)
R. Balkenende – Promotor (TU Delft - Design for Sustainability)
Jeremy Faludi – Copromotor (TU Delft - Design for Sustainability)
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Abstract
Throughout its evolution, our industrial economy has hardly moved beyond the linear consumption model of ‘take-make-use-waste’. Alternative systems, such as the circular economy, are suggested to overcome the challenges of the linear economy. It proposes a restorative way of consumption where materials, products and parts are kept longer in use and no waste is generated. Repair helps to slow down the resource loops, with the added benefit that the required investments are lower than for other recovery options. However, spare parts may not be available when the production of the products ceases as it is difficult to predict how many spare parts are needed and storing them in warehouses can be costly. To make spare parts more generally available, they could be produced with additive manufacturing. Printed spare parts can be stored online instead of in a physical inventory, reducing delivery time, costs, emissions, and material waste. However, to fully optimise printed spare parts, a better understanding is needed of the design considerations that are involved.
In this dissertation, we explore how additive manufacturing can be used to produce plastic spare parts for the repair of consumer products. By reviewing the repairs of consumer products in repair café’s, we estimate that around 8-29% of plastic spare parts are currently suitable for additive manufacturing. As most parts are currently unsuitable for additive manufacturing, the design of these printed spare parts needs to be aligned with the capabilities of the technology. This requires a better understanding of the specific design considerations. We need to find what design aspects are suitable for the use of additive
manufacturing and which are more difficult. This will help us to determine the design complexity and what the biggest design challenges will be. Also, we investigate how to design parts that facilitate the use of additive manufacturing. Since parts can be designed by either the consumer or the manufacturer, it is important to distinguish between design in consumer self-repair and in manufacturer-enabled professional repair. These design perspectives are explicitly included in this dissertation....