So I am thinking of starting to move out of just PLA and into ABS. I know that ABS must be properly ventilated and that brings me to my question. Where my printer currently is does not have a window near by to run a vent to. But what I do have is a fireplace extremely close. I could easily vent into the fireplace but that leads to this question. Does ABD fumes rise or sink? Or are they natural and not going either way really? If they rise, my idea to vent into the fire place will work, but if they don’t I will have to relocate the printer, and that is no easy task for my home.
Does anyone know the answer to this? I can not find anything online while searching about how the fumes react. Thank you for your time.
It isn’t easy to be accurate, as the process products may include different substances.
General, ABS unpleased output are VOCs that, despite being heavier than air, do not behave as heavy gaseous and do not sink. It will float and mix into the air.
Forced extraction until the fireplace to ensure low pressure in the tube. Or/and a good air purifier on the premises.
While ASA is better than ABS, you should still see to vent it. ASA still releases a good amount of ultra fine particles and VOC.
@jpwanabe
I agree with @JayZay. You need a proper ventilation system. As you will not have natural convection, you also have to make sure that you have proper airflow though the fireplace vent.
Additionally, I would also go with an air purifier. They are cheap and alarm you if the quality would get too bad.
I also would highly recommend ASA over ABS if you are worried about the smell and harmful VOCs. I could barely smell ASA as it was printing on a stock X1C so I printed one of these Bento Box air purifiers and now I can’t smell anything even if I open the door and stick my nose in there right when the print finishes.
It’s not clear from your post but if you do not have a full enclosure I wouldn’t even attempt printing ABS. Smaller ASA prints are doable but you really need a chamber for either.
I have the X1 carbon. But as i understood it, both ABS and ASA needed propper ventilation. Are you telling me i can just add that filter bento boxes and it neutralizes the funes?
Yes, that’s been my experience. The X1C already has a built in carbon filter that circulates the air. The Bento Box filter just adds more filtration. With just the built in filter I could barely smell the fumes when printing but with the Bento I now can’t detect a smell at all even if I sniff at the cracks in the door so I think it’s doing a good job.
The smell difference between the two is immense in my limited experience. If you do a Google search for “ASA vs ABS” every single article recommends ASA. I’ve gone through 20+kg of ASA now and it just prints awesome and fast. With ABS I was constantly struggling with warping on large prints while ASA is MUCH better in that respect.
Not all ASA is the same however and the Bambu version has not worked well for me. My favorite is Polylite ASA.
No! You can not! It reduces the amount of VOC and ultra fine particles, but you have no control. You do not know when the filter will be ineffective, when it is saturated.
Yes, it helps to reduce the emissions, but for me, it got completely useless after about 200h of printing as the airflow reduced due to a clogged filter.
Install it, for sure. It helps. But without a proper large air purifier outside the printer, one that actually also warns you, I would not trust it!
It really helps to reduce the fumes significantly. I have an P1S. Only if i am opening the door while printing it gest unbearable. You will smell a bit, as usual, but with the box reduces it by more than 60% i asume. I installed 5v Fans in my box and connected them via USB to the intenal USB-Connector of the Bambu. So it runs when the printer is on.
I do not disagree with that. BUT, it does not work forever. You will have to replace the filters and, like I said before, you have no idea when they lose their effectiveness. The odor is actually not the problem, and they are the largest components that are emitted.
I have measured it with an air quality meter, and at least with my filament, it started to emit high levels of VOC after about 200h. It quickly got into levels that the WHO considers as dangerous.
I mean, it also depends on your situation. If you have the printer in a well ventilated place, you only go there to change the plates after each print, etc. it will be fine. If you are running it in your living areas, like I am currently forced to do, this is not good enough.
But for my own health, I would not rely on the Bento Box. In the end, that is up to you. Its your risk in the end, your health. I can not recommend just relying on it, I would always try to reduce the amount of dangerous fumes as much as possible.
Most ABS stinks badly, some doesn’t. Most ASA doesn’t stick as bad, but some does.
So try if ASA works for you and if your favourite brand’s ASA stinks. Lack of stink doesn’t mean there’s no styrene and other VOCs of course, but it’s a good indication.
An anecdote for you: The first ASA I tried was some low-brand Regshare ASA (just because it was available locally) and not only did it stink out of the box and not have consistent colour, but it also stank badly and visibly “hissed” while printing (I dried it so it was not water). After printing there was visible coat of something awful all inside the printer which looked like moisture, and when I smelled it from my finger I almost fainted, though it had no detectable odour. Nothing like that happened to me with other ASA. Prints still worked fine (except for the strange colour variation), but there was clearly something very wrong with their recipe.