Manufacturing in a Climate Emergency

Course Overview

The current rapid evolution of manufacturing technology is reshaping where, when, and by whom objects are produced. In particular, the emergence of increasingly sophisticated additive manufacturing processes, coupled with greater automation, mean that mass customization, decentralized production and more complex geometries and material combinations are now more attainable than ever before. The environmental impacts of these new ways of transforming material are challenging to quantify and are subject to a wide range of differing opinions and assumptions. This course provides participants with a framework for critically analyzing new processing routes, so that decisions can be made with a clearer view of their implications for energy consumption, recyclability, and consumption of finite resources.