Additive Manufacturing technology in the goldsmith industry. Economic benefits, sustainability issues and diffusion in the Arezzo district

In the last decades, most sectors, such as communications, engineering, images, and architecture have all experienced their own digital transition. The Additive Manufacturing technology is a technological process born from this evolution from analogue to digital processes. For this reason, it is now possible to apply Additive Manufacturing in order to make the operations more flexible and efficient. Additive manufacturing has actually been around for several decades, while it seems new to many. Although the terms ‘3D printing’ is wrongly used to discuss additive manufacturing, it is actually a subset of additive manufacturing. In the right applications, additive manufacturing delivers improved performance, complex geometries, and simplified fabrication. In this study will be analysed the main technologies of the AM family, particularly the jewels production in the goldsmith industry. Indeed, as part of this transitional phase, jewellery’s printing state of art needs to be examined to see whether it is better to stay anchored to the classical lost wax casting method or adopt a new technology. The main objective of this thesis is to provide a general review of the state-of-art of the Additive Manufacturing technology along with its diffusion. In the first chapter the Additive Manufacturing technology is presented: the evolution, the main process steps, and the different technologies classification, starting from the 7 main categories then explaining deeply some of the most important technologies of each sub-category. The second chapter focuses more deeper on the AM technological innovations, analysing in detail the principal advantages and disadvantages due to adoption; moreover the process materials most commonly used, and the sectors of application are described as well. Then the attention is shifted from the general AM technology to the specific application in the goldsmith industry sector. In the third chapter it is discussed the revolution, due to the AM introduction, in the craftsmanship art of jewellery manufacturing process, the changes that involves, the benefits and the materials adopted. Furthermore, the three techniques of goldsmith production, the Classic Microfusion, the Direct Microfusion and the Selective Laser Melting (SLM), are examined in detail and compared. The study proceeds in the fourth chapter with an overview of the Italian goldsmith industry sector in general. Then, particularly, on the Italian goldsmith sector, analysing its structure, the organization along the Italian area and the main economic aspects. An excursion about future improvements and developments of the AM technology in the sector, concludes the chapter. Finally, in the last chapter, the analysis of a case study on the Arezzo goldsmith market is carried out. The study is performed throughout the submission of a questionnaire to a sample of Arezzo craftsmen of the goldsmith industry. Then, the results collected are analysed in order to understand the rate of diffusion of the Additive Manufacturing technology in the Italian goldsmith sector. This analysis allows to provide interesting conclusions on the diffusion of the 3D printing in the goldsmith sector in specific area and on future opportunities for the industry.