The Redesign Decision-Making Cycle: A perspective on predicting prosumer household 3D printer waste

Abstract

3d printer manufacturers have been focussing on maintaining their market position considering the ever-changing demands for new product designs. The recent boom in the household 3d-printer market raises the question of whether it is a good idea to produce large numbers of household 3d-printers, considering that the satisfaction with the visuals printed by 3d-printers will not remain stable. Changing desires leads prosumers to revise their printed forms, frequently making another design to overcome dissatisfaction. Quick disposal of these successive printed forms creates a significant amount of waste. It was hypothesised that it is not possible to meet the sustainable waste management goals with the increase in household-level 3d-printers. Therefore, the use of 3d-printers is likely to be unsustainable because of this expected substantial increase in waste. This study conducted a literature review to provide a perspective on this phenomenon. The novel contribution of this perspective will help estimate the amount of waste generated. It was concluded that 3d-printers, although help in meeting the everyday desires of prosumers, do not meet the requirements of a sustainable society. © 2021 institution of chemical engineers