Resin printing safety

[guillotine 16039xp 1]

I’ve been following the online discussion on resin 3d printing safety on and off. As with many things nowadays there seems to be very sharp extremes to both ends and it’s quite difficult to make a judgment on how much to worry or not. Some people are super cautious of the fumes, while some print in their bedrooms.

 

What are the thoughts of the community here? What kind of safety measures you are doing with your printing?

[bloodmoonorcParticipant 1763xp 1]

Suppliers should provide safety data sheets for all materials associated with 3D printing. SLA resins are primarily irritants, but some have further issues depending on type. That’s mostly down to varying chemical compositions of the resins as they often have differing qualities, so for example greater durability or elasticity based on end use.
I would suggest separation of the printer space from working/living space as advisable unless you can isolate/ventilate the printer with an extraction system.

[blinky465 17028xp 0]

I’m pretty relaxed around resins and 3d printing. I recently started wearing gloves (marigolds so one pair lasts about six months, not filling landfill with those horrible latex things) but now because without them I got my fingers all sticky and made my tools horrible to work with, rather than through any particular safety concern.

That said, some people are super sensitive to resins. My wife is super sensitive to perfume and can’t wear it at all. We’re all different. We all have different tolerances to stuff.

Modern resins are far less stinky than a few years ago but they can still leave an odour – I print in my workshop and notice the smell when I first go in (if the printer is running) but so noticing it very quickly.

Do what you’re comfortable with. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of consensus as to what’s “safe” – some of us appear reckless, others appear overly cautious; nobody actually knows who is right just yet!

[sundancer 42952xp 0]

Maybe just take the “better safe than sorry” approach. Remember that at some point in time radiation, led paint and asbestos where considered “harmless” (nicotine and cigarettes anyone?)

as @bloodmoonorc  said: resins are very different in what they contain from brand to brand.

Better safe than sorry. Have a well ventilated area, if possible an extractor of some kind or put it in a separate room. Especially if you have kids or pets.

[guillotine 16039xp 2]

Yes, “better safe than sorry” is what my thinking is too. I don’t want to become an alarmist, but on the other hand there are some extra safety steps I could take with fairly small effort.

I currently print in my garage/workshop, which is separate from the house and a fairly large space. There is active ventilation which I also run on a higher setting while printing. While it’s not our living quarters, I do spend a fair bit of time there with painting and hobby projects.

I would have space to add an enclosure (I see people are using grow tents) and run ducting to the built-in ventilation. That should pretty much do away with the fumes. It could also help with temperature control and minimise sunlight impacting the UV resin.

[danlee 22441xp 0]

I’ve been using my resin printer for a few years. I do it in the garage to keep it away from the rest of the family. I wear disposable gloves and wash my hands when I take the gloves off. The smell from the IPA for the cleaning is probably worse than the actual resin smell. It won’t hurt to keep the printer in a well ventilated area. At that point I think the printer should be safe enough.

 

Once cured I promptly undercoat the model to put the barrier of paint on the resin.

[flatbattery 8265xp 1]

Having a small house and no separate space I’ve been put off a resin printer, until I can afford  all the extras, including an enclosure and ventilation. My wife is asthmatic and prone to reacting to fumes, which factored in any considerations.

That being said I treated myself to an FDM over Christmas so at least I can get some terrain done, starting with a Deluxe Dungeon Saga project.

[maldroth 14xp 0]

Resurrecting this thread rather than making another since my question is on topic. After extended use of your printer in your chosen area have you noticed any build up of particles or smell? I ask because I’m finally setting up my printer and trying to find a good and safe spot to use it. I have some mats and other safety supplies but looking at respirator/filters and seeing if I need those or not.

[blinky465 17028xp 1]

I’ve stopped noticing the smell from my 3d printer.
I think this is probably down to the type of resin as much as anything else. In the early days, resins were pretty stinky.
They’re still not odour-free. If I leave a vat of resin out and don’t cover it, there’s a bit of a “tang” in the air an hour or so later, when I return to the workshop. But it’s a smell that I stop noticing really really quickly.

But I don’t leave resin lying around uncovered (for long anyway).
And with an Anycubic Mono 4K and Sunlu abs-like resin (sometimes I buy eco resin but only because of price) after four (five?) years of 3d printing, I haven’t noticed any kind of build up of particles/smell.

I certainly think a respirator is overkill!

[guillotine 16039xp 1]

I haven’t noticed any kind of build up, though I’ve always printed in a room with active ventilation. Protecting the surfaces against splashes is definitely worth it — splashes WILL happen.

Personally, I wear a respirator when working with resin printers. It’s very little effort to put it on when going to the printing area. Respirators and filters aren’t expensive. Why not limit your exposure to the fumes? Same goes to eye protection.

[pagan8thParticipant 10857xp 0]

I’m toying with the idea of 3D printer and the consensus seems to be that resin is better…

However… I live in a small house and don’t really have a space I can set up as a permanent ‘workshop’ than I can 3D print in… I use all of the rooms most days.

Is FDM safer to use indoors than resin printers?

Are 3D printers safe to leave running for the hours when I’m at work?

Can FDM do decent quality minatures, or would be limited to terrain production?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[sundancer 42952xp 0]

Is FDM safer to use indoors than resin printers?

I’d say yes. Less fumes and no liquids that can spill.

Are 3D printers safe to leave running for the hours when I’m at work?

3D printers should never run unattended. You can mitigate that risk with setups that let you keep an eye on your print via the web.

Can FDM do decent quality minatures, or would be limited to terrain production?

AFAIK FDM has gotten way better but consensus is: resin (for the moment) is better than FDM.

But I only talk from a theoretical position with keeping an eye on “the news”. People with practice sure have more and deeper insights.

[blinky465 17028xp 0]

Sorry @sundancer, I’ve got to disagree – quite strongly – about “safety” with 3d printers.
You’re right that leaving 3d printers unattended can be risky – but some prints can take 12-19 hours or so (for terrain) so staying with the printer for that long is simply impractical. People leave 3d printers running unattended, that’s just a fact of life.

*Some* 3d printers are cheaply/badly made.
Thermal runaway is “a thing” with FDM printers. They *can* cause fires. It’s very, very unlikely. But it’s still a possibility.
There’s no way that a vat of resin and an ex-phone screen and a stepper motor can set your house on fire.

We need to define “safer” before deciding one is “safer” than the other.
I run both fdm and resin printers for long print jobs (overnight). It’s only ever when I’ve run the fdm printer do I check out of the window in the morning to see if my end-of-the-garden workshop has burned down!

FDM is dreadful for miniatures.
If you want to print miniatures, just get a resin printer. You can even print relatively small terrain pieces and scatter terrain too.

[sundancer 42952xp 0]

Well if it is “risky” then it can’t be safe, can it? I do understand that prints can take a very long time and there is almost nobody in the world with enough spare time to watch filament harden but the initial question was: Are they safe. And they are not. They will not explode the second you look the other way but (especially filament printers) carry the risk of fire.

Is it “safe” to drive a car without seatbelts? No. It’s risky. That doesn’t mean you’ll die on the way to work but the potential is higher than if you would buckle up.

Again: the question wasn’t about the likeliness of a failure/accident but the possibility. And since pagan8th inquired about FMD specifically I stand with my opinion: it’s not safe. How anybody weights that risk is a personal matter.

[pagan8thParticipant 10857xp 1]

So… stealing a quote from the first Tomb Raider movie…

“Right, so… Pretty much touch anything, and you get your head chopped off.”

Life is a risk, but some risks can be mitigated. So I would only be able to print when I have time off work. I won’t sit there watching the 3D printer 24/7, but I can be nearby if it explodes.

My primary concern with resin is the fumes.

My secondary concern is how many items would I need to print to justify the expense of buying a 3D print along with the running costs of electricity and resin or filament?

I think that the best solution at present is to buy the minis from etsy if I can’t find them elsewhere.

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