Energy consumption of other manufacturing methods is also quite high, for instance, injection molding is super energy intensive, as are most forms of casting and machining.
It's clear that 3D printing is no substitute for injection molding, stamping or or other such mass fabrication methods. But, like with every other manufacturing method: it is complementary, there are applications for all of these.
And yes, I've stepped into factories, and worked with/for them, beside that I had a metal workshop and was partner in an early CAD/CAM company. So FWIW I think I understand the limitations of the tech quite well, and I think that if 3D printing could be sped up by a factor of 100 or so (which is definitely in the realm of the possible) that the other disadvantages would matter a lot less than they do today.
It's clear that 3D printing is no substitute for injection molding, stamping or or other such mass fabrication methods. But, like with every other manufacturing method: it is complementary, there are applications for all of these.
And yes, I've stepped into factories, and worked with/for them, beside that I had a metal workshop and was partner in an early CAD/CAM company. So FWIW I think I understand the limitations of the tech quite well, and I think that if 3D printing could be sped up by a factor of 100 or so (which is definitely in the realm of the possible) that the other disadvantages would matter a lot less than they do today.