I recently purchased a Bambu Lab P1S and as a newbie I am very happy with its performance and print quality. However, after doing some research online, I became increasingly concerned about emissions and air quality during 3D printing.
At first, I placed the printer in my home office, but after reading about potential emissions of ultrafine particles (UFPs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), I decided to move it to the basement. The printer is now located in a closed room with a door, and ventilation is provided through a small window (approximately 40 x 40 cm) that opens into a light well.
I only use original Bambu Lab filaments, and I print almost exclusively with PLA and PETG. According to the recommendations Iâve read, I keep the front door slightly open and the top lid ajar when printing with these materials.
Even though I always leave the room while printing, I still have some concerns about safety.
What are your thoughts about this problem? Where are your printers located? Do you use an air-purifier or any filters?
Yes, you do need to worry, mostly with ABS / ASA, and check the MSDS on any other more esoteric filaments.
In a perfect world, the PLA on your roll is pure, and thus doesnât emit much more particulate or VOC than brushing your hand across the couch. But the PLA on your roll is not pure, and likely has a coloring additive, might be alloyed with something to be âtoughâ etc etc. I wouldnât be âalarmedâ but I would use some general precautions. Donât seal your room and print 5 kg, that sorta thing =p
If you worry about air quality, you should first stop cooking in the kitchen or burning candles indoors. Better skip the toilet air freshener too. Only after that it makes sense to worry about your printer with PLA and PETG.
I will still go with a flippant answer, with all due respected (I know you know I know you know I mean that)
No. I donât believe you should. Note what I said, I donât believe.
Between pla an petg in a normal room in a normal house will affect you as much as walking outside. I VOC detectors that I trust, telling me Iâll die of something else first. A doctor too. Red meat. Red mean will kill me.
So donât hotbox your PLA or PETG and youâll live long enough to die.
I think the measures you have taken should be more than adequate for PLA and PETG.
To make you sleep better, you could invest in an air quality monitor so can base your decision on measurements. there also filters that go inside the printer to remove most fumes before they leave the printer at all, called bento box ( Is that one specific type or the kind of device?).
I donât know which criteria an air monitor should fulfill to capture all relevant hazards.
I think Vector3D has published plans for a very sophisticated one at a reasonable price.
Malc provided a paper you can read but itâs not going to help you judge relative risk. A printer and a candle are on the same order of magnitude for UFP production. How worried are you about candles?
If you live in the city the biggest air quality risk might be the open window.
I use big air purifiers. And keep my windows closed.
Besides, even if you do get contaminated with VOCs or UFPs by things like ASA or ABS, Youâll probably only get moderate fever. Nothing (too) deadly until you start working in a room filled with printers only printing with that stuffâŚ
Rule by thumb: If youâre printing with PLA, PETG, TPU or PVA, you have nothing to worry about. Just donât have it in the same room as your bed cuz me personally, I donât like to have a microwave in my bedroom. Besides, when youâre printing with TPU, VOCs are the least of your worries! Youâd be more focused on if TPU is going to absolutely jam the hell out of your printerâs extruder.
There are so many sources of contaminants in the environment, whether or not you should worry about your 3D printer is a tough question to answer. Yes, they make micro particulates and emit VOCs. So do fabrics and carpets and paints and cleaners in your home. So do all the cars and trucks on the highway whenever you go for a drive somewhere. Live near farmland? There are all sorts of particulates blowing off those fields, not just dirt but chemicals from fertilizers and insecticides. I was reading that as the Great Salt Lake in Utah evaporates, itâs stirring up all sorts of heavy metals and Arsenic that is blowing in to the city and may become a significant health risk for residents.
So if you have a respiratory problem thatâs severe enough you are taking precautions already, probably makes sense to take precautions with your printer.
Otherwise, for most users, I suspect the contribution to their daily exposure of particulate and VOCs from their 3D printer is like an extra bucket of water over Niagara Falls and itâs not worth worrying about. Just print in a room with some ventilation. Thatâs what I do.
Thanks all of you for your feedback. I understand that there isnât a clear of definite answer to my questions. As a in 3d printing, I was just a bit concerned and wanted to make sure I didnât do anything I might regret later. Iâll take a look at the Bentobox and will probably get an air purifier as well.
Do you also print with the front door open when printing PLA?
Door open for pla is more about the cooling of ambient temp than the venting of gas, but in any case, no, door closed, with a vented riser for pla. Lets me keep the ams on top glass, but still have the top open for hot air to leave. My Workshop layout really doesnât like having the doors held open lol
I donât really know much about these kinds of plastics but is it ok to 3d print in a bedroom if the 3d printer is a couple of metres away has good ventilation and a good filter this is just pla btw
Iâm unqualified to say yes or no to safe, but plain pla from a reputable vendor is probably not terrible, but it is also measurably not good(above ambient), So yâknow.
I would be kept awake by the noise in any case, if it were close in distance enough to matter for health.