Indoor Air Quality Implications of Additive Manufacturing in Hybrid Workplaces

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are increasingly being integrated into work environments, making the coexistence of production and office activities within hybrid workplaces more common and raising concerns regarding indoor air quality (IAQ) in shared or adjacent workplace environments. Although emissions associated with AM processes have been examined, limited attention has been given to IAQ conditions in hybrid workplaces where production and office functions share the same indoor environment. This study investigates the IAQ conditions associated with selected powder bed fusion and vat photopolymerization operations in a hybrid workplace through real-time environmental monitoring and employee perception analysis. Field experiments were conducted during pre-printing, printing, post-printing, and post-processing phases. Two custom-designed instruments, the Indoor Network-Based Air-Sensing Ecosystem (INBASE) and the Indoor Air Quality Polling Instrument (AIRPOLL), were developed to monitor particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, benzene, ethanol, nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide, and oxygen and collect employee feedback. Findings showed that pollutant concentrations varied by process type, operational phase, and monitored space. Higher concentrations, particularly of volatile organic compounds, were observed in production spaces, while most other parameters remained within reference values. Employee feedback indicated positive perceptions in office spaces and greater concerns in production spaces. The findings support the importance of ventilation, spatial separation, and continuous monitoring in AM-integrated hybrid workplaces.