Analysis of energy consumption and pollutants in additive manufacturing: a comparison of ABS, PLA, and PETG by operational stages

This study presents a multi-domain experimental framework for evaluating the environmental and energetic behavior of desktop fused deposition modeling (FDM) under controlled enclosure conditions. A sensor-instrumented data acquisition platform was developed to continuously monitor chamber temperature, relative humidity, electrical power demand, carbon dioxide, total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) throughout four operational stages: Sensor Preheating, Printer Initialisation, Printing, and post-print Resting. An 18-run experimental matrix was implemented using PLA, ABS, and PETG filaments, combining two material-specific nozzle-temperature settings and three infill densities. Time-normalized datasets were used to compare emission and energy profiles across the complete print cycle, and a reduced factorial model was applied to explore the main and two-factor interaction effects of material, temperature condition, and infill density. The results revealed strongly material-dependent environmental signatures. PLA produced the strongest sensor-indicated particulate response, with several raw PM 2.5 outputs exceeding the AM1008W sensor’s specified upper measurement range of 1000 µg/m 3 . ABS exhibited the most persistent chemical outgassing, with an average TVOC concentration of 128.0 ppm and a maximum of 283.0 ppm, while PETG showed minimal particulate accumulation but temperature-dependent TVOC peaks approaching those observed for ABS. Energy consumption was governed primarily by material type, nozzle-temperature condition, and infill density: ABS and PETG required nearly identical cumulative electrical inputs of approximately 263 Wh per cycle, whereas PLA averaged about 211 Wh. The interaction analysis showed that maximum PM 2.5 concentration was significantly affected by material, temperature condition, and the Material × Temperature Condition interaction, whereas none of the two-factor interactions for maximum TVOC concentration reached statistical significance. Total energy consumption was mainly determined by the direct process settings. These findings demonstrate that desktop FDM sustainability and indoor air safety cannot be assessed solely from material selection or nominal operating temperature but must be understood through the coupled effects of polymer chemistry, thermal processing conditions, and printing demand. The results support the need for verified engineering controls, particularly enclosure or confinement combined with Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) for source capture, while HEPA and activated-carbon filtration may be incorporated as supplementary measures.