In 2026, pump impeller manufacturing is shifting from simply comparing "whether it can be 3D printed" to Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Costing, and Route Selection. A recent study in Cleaner Environmental Systems conducted a full life cycle comparison between conventional sand casting and Directed Energyosition (DED) additive manufacturing. The results show that sand casting has a 46% higher abiotic resource depletion potential due to material and yield issues; while DED, because its manufacturing process is highly dependent on electricity, has a global warming potential of approximately 33.7 kg CO₂ eq per impeller, higher than sand casting's 15. kg CO₂ eq, with electricity consumption accounting for about 75% of its environmental burden. In terms of economics, under the study's baseline conditions, the life cycle cost of sand casting is approximately EUR 175 per piece, while DED is approximately EUR 1,265 per piece, that 3D printing is not inherently lower-carbon or lower-cost. However, additive manufacturing still has clear value for small batches, complex flow channels, legacy spare parts, and discontinued imported pumps. In2026, teams including those from the Technical University of Munich successfully reproduced discontinued pump impellers through Reverse Engineering + Additive Manufacturing, and verified through actual operation that their performance is essentially equivalent to the original parts, demonstrating that Digital Spare Parts On-Demand Manufacturing are suitable for high-value, low-volume spare parts. Jiangsu Haifa Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (www.jslgpump.com) can combine and apply the two processes according to product characteristics. For standard impellers in batch production such as API 610 OH, BB1–BB5, and VS series, sand casting or precision casting still offers cost advantages; for special materials, high-alloy, small-batch impellers, legacy imported pump spare parts, and flow channel structures, DED, LPBF, and Hybrid Manufacturing be prioritized for evaluation. In the future, Haifa can establish an "Annual Volume—Lead Time—Material Yield—Energy Consumption—QA/QC" manufacturing decision model, rather than covering all products with a single process. Truly advanced pump manufacturing is not "all 3D printing," but selecting the most suitable manufacturing route based on batch size, material, structural complexity, and life cycle cost. Chinese References Chinese Technical Direction | Pump impeller sand casting, additive manufacturing, life cycle cost, life cycle assessment, digital spare parts, and hybrid manufacturing. Chinese Technical Materials | Jiangsu Haifa Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd.: API 610 OH, BB, VS series, high-pressure multistage pumps, and special material impeller manufacturing technology direction. Company website: www.jslgpump.com English References English Reference | Borgaonkar, A., McNamara, G., Kinahan, D., Brabazon, D.,oori, A., Iuliano, L. Environmental and economic trade-offs in conventional vs. additive manufacturing: A life cycle study of pump impeller production. Cleaner Environmental Systems, 2026, Vol.22, 100477. DOI: 10.1016.cesys.202.100477. English Reference | Stadler, M., Schatz, K., Rehfeldt, S., Klein, H. Reverse Engineering and Performance Evaluation of a Pump Impeller Fabricated With Additive Manufacturing. Chem Ingenieur Technik,2026, 9811):713–725. DOI: .1002/cite70123. English Reference Casting process optimization of stainless-steel pump impellers using finite element simulation. Scientific Reports, 2026 This study demonstrates that conventional casting can still significantly improve quality and material utilization in complex impellers through optimization of pouring, risers, and solidification.

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