Reconciling carbon footprints and mechanical properties in laser powder bed fusion with 316L stainless steel

<title>Abstract</title> <p>Laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB) widely used in manufacturing, yet its environmental impact depends on process parameters, which also affect part quality. Current life cycle analyses usually treat sustainability and quality separately. Additionally, there is little research on the role of shielding gases with other key parameters in carbon footprints with granular life cycle inventory data. This study integrates life cycle assessments (LCA) with controlled PBF-LB experiments with 316L stainless steel to quantify how layer thickness, laser power, scanning speed, and shielding gas (argon and nitrogen) jointly affect the mechanical properties and carbon footprints of the production process. By deploying sensors to the manufacturing system, 16 parameter scenarios were evaluated with granular data. Process parameters substantially affect carbon footprints through differences in build time and energy use. Doubling layer thickness and using higher productivity settings cut the climate impact (in CO2 equivalents) by 12% (argon) and 24% (nitrogen), while maintaining strong part density (&gt;99%) and low porosity (&lt;0.1%). Volumetric energy density (VED) alone is insufficient to forecast part quality or environmental impact. These findings show that strategic parameter selection can simultaneously lower climate impact and preserve part quality.</p>