Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a key tool for comparing traditional and additive manufacturing technologies, particularly during the early design stages of topologically optimized automotive components. This study presents a cradle-to-gate LCA of a brake pedal, comparing Conventional Manufacturing Al 7075-T6 with topology-optimized AM solutions in PETG-CF (FDM) and AlSi10Mg (L-PBF). Results show that FDM with PETG-CF achieves the lowest environmental impact, reducing Global Warming Potential. The findings highlight that sustainability is a trade-off between technology, material, design and process choices, making LCA essential for informed decision-making and sustainable product development, satisfying Industry 5.0 requirements.
