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Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

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Re: Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

#51

Post by 3pac »

fasthands9 wrote: post #25
esskay wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is, but you still regularly see people showing off their latest 3d printer which is sitting in a kids bedroom running all day, or their office. Often when questioned, the existance of it being in a case or there being a cheap air purifier in the corner of the room is cited as the reason why its 'fine'.

I do feel like we dont really have sense of effects of particulate matter on the body. How does the risk of this compare to walking down a street with lots or running ICE cars? Or when you go into a basement and can smell the natural gas burning - is that a similar risk? If you told me being in the same room as a PLA printer was 10x worse I would believe it. If you told me being next to a car for 5 seconds was 10x wo…

We really do not have a sense of these things. We are often overconfident in our limited senses. I was being poisoned by carbon monoxide from my oven and did not realize it until it was too late. I told myself "it cannot happen to me". Thank God for a few related HN comments, and a hunch to buy a CO meter.

Re: Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

#52

Post by bobbywilson0 »

I recently purchased a 3d printer, and I looked for articles talking about the risks associated with PLA fumes. This article[1] seems to be popularly cited, which includes the statement "PLA doesn’t look like a problem." I think this is what in my experience has been largely the sentiment when I have asked around, and read forum posts about the topic. At my local library there is a makerlab space, they are free to use and they basically run them non-stop uncovered in the room.

One of the other points I found interesting was that someone mentioned that a lot of the printers are manufactured in China where there isn't as much regulation around required safety warnings. However, NIOSH does have a short page[2] on 3d printer safety.

In my mind as a new hobbyist it seems like the combination of two issues.

1. The way 3d printers are currently designed and marketed is primarily an open-air style that can be used just out of the box. Enclosures are usually at least as much as a consumer level printer, and you need to have a way to vent it to the outside.

2. The thinking from the community is largely "PLA doesn't look like a problem" and only use an enclosure for ABS and more toxic materials.

I understand the comments around hobbyists shouldn't be the ones designing filtration systems, but it does seem reasonable to

[1] - https://hackaday.com/2016/02/01/3d-printing-fumes-new-scienc...

[2] - https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/newsroom/feature/2022print3D.html

Re: Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

#56

Post by fasthands9 »

nick__m wrote: post #44
fasthands9 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do feel like we dont really have sense of effects of particulate matter on the body. How does the risk of this compare to walking down a street with lots or running ICE cars? Or when you go into a basement and can smell the natural gas burning - is that a similar risk? If you told me being in the same room as a PLA printer was 10x worse I would believe it. If you told me being next to a car for 5 seconds was 10x wo…

In "ICE cars" the biggest sources of particulate matter are the tires and brakes¹, don't electric car have those too ? 1) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317425487/figure/fi...

Good point! I was mistaken.

Though I think larger point stands that its very hard to know risks of different particulate sources (like brakes).

Re: Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

#57

Post by tarotuser »

olao99 wrote: post #42
tarotuser wrote: post #28

This is NOT new news. Same discussion, from 2015 - https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/toxic-abs-pla-fumes-3dsa... And in 3d printing groups, it was common to hear people say "ABS smells like cancer". Sure, anecdotes aren't evidence proper, but the science certainly bears this claim. Edit: And to add my own anecdote, I have a large format high temp printer. It is capable of printing stuff like ultem (375c tip, 220c b…

quote from the article: "The toxicity tests showed that PLA particles were more toxic than the ABS particles on a per-particle comparison, but because the printers emitted so much more of the ABS" so, not just ABS

My own anecdote was about polycarbonate printing.

But I would be very scientifically comfortable that ANY plastic brought at or above its glass transition state is going to outgas toxic materials. And that includes PLA, ABS, HIPS, polycarbonate, PETG, PET, ASA, and more. And printing is usually quite a bit above tg. Higher temp = more nastiness.

That's why my 3d printers are in my workshop, separated from our house. And they are also enclosed printers, so I'm less worried of particulate exposure. But again, anybody starting off early in 3d printing knew this was a definite threat and a concern.

Re: Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

#58

Post by Ekaros »

Throwaway045814 wrote: post #48
eli wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Laser cutting brownies is probably fine. That said, there's plenty of evidence that fumes from cooking can negatively affect indoor air quality. You should always open a window when you cook.

You mean the recently highlighted issue of gas stoves, or do you mean something that affects electrical stoves as well?

Purely an anecdote, but when I cook something with my induction range or even air fryer or oven my air purifier goes from 1 to 9 or even 12 (1-12 scale). And it is somewhat outside the kitchen.

So yeah, there is probably lot going on. From simple water vapor to those by products that come with browning.

Re: Commercial 3D printers emit traces of toxic fumes, study finds (2019)

#60

Post by Scene_Cast2 »

tarotuser wrote: post #28

This is NOT new news. Same discussion, from 2015 - https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/toxic-abs-pla-fumes-3dsa... And in 3d printing groups, it was common to hear people say "ABS smells like cancer". Sure, anecdotes aren't evidence proper, but the science certainly bears this claim. Edit: And to add my own anecdote, I have a large format high temp printer. It is capable of printing stuff like ultem (375c tip, 220c b…

Any tips or pointers on activated carbon air filters? How do you monitor the filter capacity and know when to change it? (Especially since based on my online reading, carbon filters, unlike PM filters, just start letting VOCs through as opposed to "clogging up")
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