Additive Manufacturing: Exploring the Social Changes and Impacts

摘要: Despite the myriad of possibilities and applications additive manufacturing (AM) technology, knowledge about social impacts this technology is very scarce limited in some areas. This paper explores how factors generated by development AM may create impacts, affecting health well-being people, quality life, working conditions, creation wealth. presents results an exploratory multiple case study conducted among four Portuguese organizations that use aiming to determine their perceptions regarding AM, its effects, causes. The confirm mainly seen positive on safety (regarding physical hazards), expectations for future, leisure recreation, low disruption with local economy, economic prosperity, professional status, innovative employment types. Nevertheless, a negative impact was also found (concerning hazardous substances), as well several mixed null impacts. main limitations research arise from methodology, since can be influenced contextual factors, such size sample, and/or social, cultural, technological, political, economic, ecological factors. gives up-to-date contribution topic changes, area which still little-explored literature.