Additive manufacturing is often advocated as a sustainable alternative to competing
manufacturing technologies. This research study focuses on estimating and comparing the
energy consumption required for different production volumes of nylon parts using either
selective laser sintering (SLS) or injection molding (IM). For IM & SLS, energy consumption is
estimated for nylon material refinement and part fabrication. For IM, energy consumption is also
estimated for manufacturing the injection molds and refining their metal feedstock. A paintball
gun handle serves as a representative part for calculating and normalizing material flows and
processing times. For different sets of assumptions, cross-over production volumes are
calculated, at which the per-part energy consumption of the two processes is equivalent. These
energy-based cross-over production volumes are compared to similar economic cross-over
production volumes available in the literature.Mechanical Engineerin
