Additive Manufacturing: Exploring the Social Changes and Impacts
Despite the myriad of possibilities and applications of additive manufacturing (AM) technology, knowledge about the social impacts of this technology is very scarce and very limited in some areas. This paper explores how factors generated by the development of AM technology may create social impacts...
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doaj-da5e9a6dbc804a61a0d16d5bf6d2c5682020-11-25T00:32:38ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502019-07-011114375710.3390/su11143757su11143757Additive Manufacturing: Exploring the Social Changes and ImpactsFlorinda Matos0Radu Godina1Celeste Jacinto2Helena Carvalho3Inês Ribeiro4Paulo Peças5DINÂMIA’CET—IUL—Centre for Socioeconomic Change and Territorial Studies, 1649-026 Lisboa, PortugalUNIDEMI, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology (FCT), Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, PortugalUNIDEMI, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology (FCT), Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, PortugalUNIDEMI, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology (FCT), Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, PortugalIDMEC—Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, PortugalIDMEC—Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, PortugalDespite the myriad of possibilities and applications of additive manufacturing (AM) technology, knowledge about the social impacts of this technology is very scarce and very limited in some areas. This paper explores how factors generated by the development of AM technology may create social impacts, affecting the health and social well-being of people, quality of life, working conditions, and the creation of wealth. This paper presents the results of an exploratory multiple case study conducted among four Portuguese organizations that use AM technology, aiming to determine their perceptions regarding the social impacts of AM, its effects, and causes. The results confirm that AM technology is mainly seen to create positive impacts on health and safety (regarding physical hazards), on expectations for the future, on leisure and recreation, on low disruption with the local economy, on economic prosperity, on the professional status, and on innovative employment types. Nevertheless, a negative impact was also found on health and safety (concerning hazardous substances), as well as several mixed and null impacts. The main limitations of the research arise from the use of a case study methodology, since the results can be influenced by contextual factors, such as the size of the organizations in the sample, and/or social, cultural, technological, political, economic, and ecological factors. This study gives an up-to-date contribution to the topic of AM social impacts and social changes, an area which is still little-explored in the literature.https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/14/3757additive manufacturingsocial changesocial impacts3D printingrapid prototyping |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Florinda Matos Radu Godina Celeste Jacinto Helena Carvalho Inês Ribeiro Paulo Peças |
spellingShingle |
Florinda Matos Radu Godina Celeste Jacinto Helena Carvalho Inês Ribeiro Paulo Peças Additive Manufacturing: Exploring the Social Changes and Impacts Sustainability additive manufacturing social change social impacts 3D printing rapid prototyping |
author_facet |
Florinda Matos Radu Godina Celeste Jacinto Helena Carvalho Inês Ribeiro Paulo Peças |
author_sort |
Florinda Matos |
title |
Additive Manufacturing: Exploring the Social Changes and Impacts |
title_short |
Additive Manufacturing: Exploring the Social Changes and Impacts |
title_full |
Additive Manufacturing: Exploring the Social Changes and Impacts |
title_fullStr |
Additive Manufacturing: Exploring the Social Changes and Impacts |
title_full_unstemmed |
Additive Manufacturing: Exploring the Social Changes and Impacts |
title_sort |
additive manufacturing: exploring the social changes and impacts |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Sustainability |
issn |
2071-1050 |
publishDate |
2019-07-01 |
description |
Despite the myriad of possibilities and applications of additive manufacturing (AM) technology, knowledge about the social impacts of this technology is very scarce and very limited in some areas. This paper explores how factors generated by the development of AM technology may create social impacts, affecting the health and social well-being of people, quality of life, working conditions, and the creation of wealth. This paper presents the results of an exploratory multiple case study conducted among four Portuguese organizations that use AM technology, aiming to determine their perceptions regarding the social impacts of AM, its effects, and causes. The results confirm that AM technology is mainly seen to create positive impacts on health and safety (regarding physical hazards), on expectations for the future, on leisure and recreation, on low disruption with the local economy, on economic prosperity, on the professional status, and on innovative employment types. Nevertheless, a negative impact was also found on health and safety (concerning hazardous substances), as well as several mixed and null impacts. The main limitations of the research arise from the use of a case study methodology, since the results can be influenced by contextual factors, such as the size of the organizations in the sample, and/or social, cultural, technological, political, economic, and ecological factors. This study gives an up-to-date contribution to the topic of AM social impacts and social changes, an area which is still little-explored in the literature. |
topic |
additive manufacturing social change social impacts 3D printing rapid prototyping |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/14/3757 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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