Responsible Aluminium: The Benefits of Recycling in Additive Manufacturing

AUGUST 21, 2024 | Reading time: 10 min

Additive manufacturing (AM) is quickly gaining momentum across numerous industries. As AM grows, the importance of Responsible Manufacturing rises exponentially.

We at EOS strive to make 3D printing as sustainable as possible. That’s why we’ve developed a series of Responsible Products — the latest being EOS Aluminium AlSi10Mg. As a recycled feedstock solution, this new formulation can help organizations achieve climate targets and foster a safer, cleaner AM industry.  

The Power of Aluminium Recycling

Aluminium’s lightweight-yet-strong properties make it an essential metal for many applications. However, historically, its environmental impact has been profound, accounting for an estimated 2% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

Primary production — creating new or “virgin” aluminium — is a carbon-intensive endeavor. After extracting the metal from bauxite ore, it must be refined into aluminium oxide (or alumina) using the Bayer process. The following step involves smelting alumina into metallic aluminium through electrolysis. This is essential for AM applications, as it removes impurities and facilitates the production of powders suitable for 3D printing. 

Ultimately, this crucial step alone is responsible for up to a third of the industry’s carbon footprint. And, with demand expected to increase by up to 80% by 2050, relying on primary aluminium simply isn’t sustainable. 

Benefits of Secondary Aluminium

Fortunately, secondary (or recycled) aluminium is a much safer alternative. Like all metals, aluminium is composed of atoms bonded together in a crystalline structure. This makes it easy to melt and reform into a solid state without changing its fundamental properties. Therefore, you can infinitely recycle aluminium with no theoretical limitation.

Also, the secondary metal is 95% more energy-efficient than its primary counterpart. In other words, it takes just 5% of the energy required to create new aluminium. These savings translate into significant benefits — both for the environment and your business:

• Decreases energy consumption: The advent of aluminium recycling has greatly reduced carbon footprints around the world. In North America, primary aluminium carbon intensity has decreased by 49% since 1991. Moreover, the industry has reduced energy consumption by 55% since 1998. 
• Lowers production costs: Energy savings lead to cost savings, helping organizations improve bottom-line performance. Additionally, many governments offer incentives for using recycled materials, including tax breaks, grants, and subsidies, which can lower the overall production costs for manufacturers.
• Contributes to the circular economy: Using recycled aluminium ensures that materials are continuously cycled back into production, minimizing waste and reducing the need for raw extraction. In fact, nearly 75% of all aluminium ever produced is still in use today.

How EOS Drives Responsible Manufacturing

At EOS, we aim to help organizations minimize carbon footprints through sustainable 3D printing. In this spirit, we’ve developed a range of Responsible Products, including climate-neutral and carbon-reduced solutions. Now, we’re proud to have EOS Aluminium AlSi10Mg join the pack.

As one of the most popular metals in our portfolio, EOS Aluminium AlSi10Mg is essential to countless applications, such as aerospace, automotive, and more. This new formulation incorporates a minimum of 30% recycled feedstock, meaning almost a third of its material has been sourced from previously used aluminium.

With less reliance on primary extraction, this powder generates a 25% CO₂e reduction — a much more sustainable option for AM applications. As part of Fraunhofer EMI’s independent life cycle assessment, external auditor TÜV Süd verified these results according to ISO14040/44 standards.

Critically, AlSi10Mg maintains the same properties as its predecessor. EOS ensured this by validating the material per our high quality and development standards.  All characteristics and performance metrics remain the same for AM, helping you avoid the costly and time-consuming requalification process.

According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), fully requalifying AM applications can take thousands of tests and multiple years, ultimately costing businesses millions of dollars. With Responsible AlSi10Mg, you can avoid these challenges and continue production with the added benefit of a more environmentally friendly aluminium powder.

Understanding AlSi10Mg

EOS Aluminium AlSi10Mg is suitable for a wide range of AM applications. Consider its specifications:

• Ultimate tensile strength: 460 MPa is the maximum stress the material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking. A high tensile strength means it’s effective for demanding applications, such as fuselage frames and other structural components.
• Yield strength: Knowing how much load a material can bear before it starts to bend or warp is critical. AlSi10Mg withstands up to 245 MPa, meaning it will return to its original shape when stress is removed up to this point.
• Elongation at break: This is a measure of how much the material can stretch before it breaks, expressed as a percentage of its original length. AlSi10Mg has a 5% elongation, which means it can stretch 5% before it snaps.
• Good thermal and electrical conductivity: AlSi10Mg can transfer heat well, which is important for applications where heat dissipation is necessary, like engine cylinder heads. It also offers the possibility of heat treatment, allowing its properties through controlled heating and cooling processes.

In summary, AlSi10Mg is strong, durable, and flexible. These properties make the material versatile for many potential use cases in aerospace, automotive, and other carbon-intensive industries, especially as organizations face increasingly stringent environmental standards and regulations. 

At EOS, we understand meeting your environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals is a priority. When customers buy our Responsible Products, we provide annual certificates verifying how much CO₂e they’ve saved. TÜV SÜD audits and confirms this data, allowing you to use it as you wish. Whether that be measuring ESG performance, producing carbon reports, or securing favorable loans, these certificates are proof of your commitment to sustainability. 

Support Responsible Manufacturing with EOS

Take a step toward eliminating your greenhouse gas emissions with EOS Aluminium AlSi10Mg. Want to learn more? Explore our range of Responsible Products today.