Stratasys announced on November 6, 2024 the launch of SAF ReLife, an innovative software-based solution that transforms waste PA12 powder from other additive manufacturing (AM) technologies into high-quality parts. The SAF ReLife solution can efficiently repurpose waste PA12 powder from powder bed fusion printers, including high-speed sintering, SLS (selective laser sintering) and jetting build processes for use within the Stratasys H350 printer. This sustainable solution helps customers produce high-quality surface finished parts with powder that otherwise considered waste.
This new technology can significantly lower the cost-per part for customers; improve their material efficiency; and reduce their overall carbon footprint per build. SAF ReLife is a breakthrough in making additive manufacturing more sustainable, and eco-friendly by addressing a common challenge of what to do with aged powder. To determine the environmental impact, Stratasys partnered with Fraunhofer IPA to conduct a third-party Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to validate the environmental benefits of SAF ReLife.
The study revealed that repurposing PA12 waste from powder bed print processes in SAF production can reduce carbon footprint up to 89%, compared to standard production with polyamide 12 material. Research Data and assumptions: The system boundaries were defined as cradle-to-gate, with the functional unit specified as one reference print job; Energy consumption measurements were taken at the Fraunhofer IPA for the reference print job; Material consumption data was obtained from the build report. For the standard PA12 a new powder share of 30% was assumed and for ReLife PA12 a share of 100%; The background data modeling for HAF and energy consumption utilized the Ecoinvent 3.9 database; The emission factor for standard PA12 was sourced from the literature, while the environmental impacts of SAF ReLife PA12 were accounted as zero, as it is a byproduct of another process (London, Michael B. (2020): Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Assessment of Multi-Jet Fusion 3D Printing.
Master?s Thesis, University of Michigan, Michigan); The greenhouse gas emissions were calculated using the GWP100 IPCC2013 impact assessment method.
