There’s some interesting evidence of safety concerns with FFF 3D printing.
We post frequently about 3D printing safety, mostly regarding resin 3D printing. That process uses toxic resin that requires special handling to ensure safety. But what about FFF 3D printing?
It’s long been known that FFF 3D printing can cause emissions. Two types of pollutants are created:
Nanoparticles, which are small airborne particles of the material that can be breathed in and permanently lodge in a person’s lungs
VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which include a huge range of chemicals, some of which are known to be dangerous to humans
The best practice is always to properly ventilate (or filter) your 3D print work area, regardless of what type of print process is used. Nevertheless, many people operate FFF 3D printers without ventilation because they are unaware of the dangers.
Some materials produce more emissions than others. PLA is typically better, largely because it is printed at far lower temperatures than most other materials. The higher the temperature, the more stuff is emitted. Certain materials are known — via extensive research and testing — to emit plenty of noxious substances. One of them is ABS, a relatively popular 3D print material.
I saw a post on X that provided some very good visual evidence of the problem.
Adam BearnicornDesign posted the image at top, asking:
“What’s the best way to get the ASA fog off your clear panels?”
If you look closely at the image at top, you can see a bit of a white-ish fog deposited on the inner walls of the Voron 3D printer. That’s the collected emissions from, presumably, a lot of ASA 3D printing.
Aside: ASA is pretty much the same chemical formulation as ABS, but it adds the property of being resistant to UV exposure. This makes ASA an ideal material for printing durable parts intended for outdoor use. In other words, ASA produces about the same type of emissions as ABS.
Some enclosed 3D printers include a filtration system where the air inside the chamber must pass through a HEPA / activated carbon filter before entering the room air. This should greatly assist with removing the emissions. It’s not clear whether this particular Voron has such a filtration system.
Here’s the point of all this: those deposits captured by this 3D printer’s walls might have otherwise be landing in the operators’s lungs. Once there, they don’t easily come out.
In this case we’re lucky to see that the enclosure has captured some of the emissions, but now imagine what’s happening on open gantry machines printing those materials. The “fog” simply flows through the air where it can be breathed in.
Making the lungs look like that enclosure.
Safety first, everyone!
Via X
