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from the can-you-3D-print-a-gas-mask? dept.
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3D Printers Can Spew Toxic Cancer-Causing Chemicals, New Report Reveals
Multi-year research conducted by Georgia Institute of Technology and UL Chemical Safety suggests low-cost 3D-printing devices could pose a health risk by harming indoor air quality.
Publishing their work in two separate studies in Aerosol Science and Technology, one in 2017 and another in 2018, the researchers tested how 3D printers emitted particles when in a controlled environment. They found that as a byproduct, 3D printers generate a range of different-sized particles, including ultrafine particles, which can be inhaled into the pulmonary system, resulting in adverse effects on respiratory health.
“These printers tend to produce particles that are very small, especially at the beginning of the print process, and in an environment without good ventilation, they could significantly reduce indoor air quality,” said lead researcher Rodney Weber in a statement.
[...]“We found that one of the overriding principles is the temperature of the filament,” said Weber. “If you use a filament that requires a higher temperature to melt, such as ABS plastic, you produce more particles than PLA plastic filaments, which require lower temperatures.”
[...] The researchers recommend a few steps you can take at home to lessen the impact on air quality when using 3D printers, including operating them only in well-ventilated areas, setting the nozzle temperature on the lowest suggested setting, keeping a distance from operating machines, and using materials and machines that have been tested and shown to have low emissions.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by hemocyanin on Wednesday November 14 2018, @06:10AM (3 children)
full enclosure, flexible dryer hose, inline fan, dryer vent with a flap that closes when the fan is off. That's my solution.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday November 14 2018, @02:46PM
In a high rise building that doesn't work so well. Instead use positive pressure in the 3D printer room, and run the flexible dryer hose to the management floors of the building where nobody will complain because nobody there has any concerns about employee health. Problems don't exist just like climate change.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by ElizabethGreene on Friday November 16 2018, @03:24AM (1 child)
I'm putting my new printer in an enclosure for print quality reasons. Is it realistic to filter this? e.g. a Hepa filter for microplastics followed by a activated charcoal filter for the VOCs?
(Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Saturday November 17 2018, @04:37PM
I wouldn't see why not -- it will need a stronger fan though. I suppose you could actually just start with a shop vac, a HEPA filter, and then rig up some other filters inside the vac body. Will be loud of course.
I do like the outside exhaust vent. If you don't want to cut a hole in a wall, you could always cut a piece of plywood to fit in a window and cut a hole in the plywood and affix the hose to that. When you print, open your window and close it on the plywood barrier. When you aren't printing, pop it out and coil it up.