I am thinking of using the new PLA Pure for prototyping because of its low emission.
Prototyping is the most time I spend on 3D printing. Even with PLA basic, I have always had concerns about the emission due to the constant exposure to it while prototyping.
PLA Pure has similar strength to PLA Basic. So I am thinking why not. The only cons are that it is $2 more and at present has fewer colors available. I have requested a gray color which is what I use for prototyping.
What do you think? Am I missing something about PLA Pure that makes it not recommendable for such use?
Idk, I print everything as if it is the final product unless I am talking about very purposeful prototypes. (Like printing out some parts that are a sectioned cut of the whole thing)
Per 10kg it is reasonable enough a price. It’s hard to quantify what “price” people want to pay for safety but 12/kg is a pretty low premium cost anyways.
Maybe Dr. Igor Gaspar will do a mechanical review comparison vs PLA basic, etc, that would be fun.
I don’t, probably partly because I never have trouble printing with filaments that have been opened. A spool of a color or type that I rarely use may last up to a year or two. So I don’t want to buy a new spool when the occasional need arises. But I can see your strategy can help in humid climate.
When I raised the limited color availability, it was more about the limited choices for general users to choose from.
In terms of prototyping, it doesn’t matter in the early stage. In the final stage, one may want to try different colors or color combinations, then the color availability can come into play, even though that stage is short and using PLA Basic shoud be fine.
I prefer the color gray because it shows defects better than other colors.
If you have the printer running in a small room where you also reside when operating and no ventilation, it can be a factor.
PLA itself (ignoring exotics) are usually safe if the room isn’t tiny and the room has ventilation.
If the printer is in a room of its own, with some ventilation, zero issues unless you actively try to huff the filament from the external fan.
If you were using ABS or ASA, do not use this unfiltered if in the same room.
Your concerns are valid, but as I said above, unless you are in the sane room while printing and the room is small without ventilation, you do not need to worry.
I will buy the three colour versions, mostly because I like one of each, the black and white don’t add anything to my needs, I may get the due to OCD though.
My printers are in their own room and I DIYed an exhaust system using a pair of fans to pull the air outside. The fans are turned on when printing filaments other than PLA. For PLA, I only have them on when I start smell something. The reason I don’t automatically turn on the fans for all filament type is that the fans are consumer grade, not industrial grade and I want them to last a while.
Even with these measures and precautions and the reputation of PLA, the long term effect of exposure is unclear. This new PLA Pure can help to alleviate concerns of users like me. The filament may get used a lot more widely, not just by families that have little kids (the current color lineup seems to target these users) as time goes on.
I’ve had allergic reactions to being around PLA printing for too long. Took me a while to figure it out, but once I did and I started mitigating the air in my office the problem went away. I’m not certain if it was the PLA itself or the additives that I’m mildly allergic to.
I’d be curious if this filament would actually improve the air quality as they claim. Is it enough to warrant $2 more a spool? Given that I already have duct fans and an air purifier, which I don’t plan on getting rid of, then it’s probably not worth the cost to me. Their claims do sounds good though, so it’d probably be something I’d recommend to those who are super casual and print in shared spaces, particularly where kids are around. I’ve considered putting a printer in my living room just so people can enjoy watching the print go like I do, so maybe that’d be a good use case for me
This new PLA, if worked out as expected, will make it easier for families to have a printer in the living room and allowing little kids to watch.
To reach the goal of every families having a printer at home, taking away the conerns associated with melting plastic is an important step. A while back while musing on what BL would make this year, I wished for a more robust exhaust or air purifying system. Now it looks like BL did it another way, by coming up with a low emission filament.
The certifications that this filament has also move BL one step closer to having a vending machine/printer in toy stores or malls, if they decide to go that way to promote 3D printing and their brand to the general public.
You are correct that BL PLA Basic also has the UL 2904 Greenguard certification. However, Pure has even lower VOCs and PM2.5 and PM10 emissions. Less is always better when it comes to these.
The filament page also has some comparision data to some daily environments.
That’s interesting data but a lot is unknown. The only chemical actually identified is formaldehyde.
TVOC is total volatile organic compounds and can be a whole array of chemicals. It’s an easy shorthand for how much stuff is in the air but doesn’t provide identification and not all chemicals are created equal for irritations and effects. Something can have low TVOC but still be nasty.
PM2.5 is similar. It’s particles and droplets 2.5 microns in diameter and smaller but doesn’t provide identity of the particles, and not all particles are created equal in terms of health/respiratory effects.
The low numbers for filament are encouraging, but people shouldn’t relax just because those numbers are low because without knowing what chemicals are being released, and what particles are being produced, it’s hard to really draw much conclusion from them.
The emissions could actually be quite bad even though concentrations are low.
I have no idea what is released or how bad it might be but it’s important to understand what those numbers actually tell you which is not much.
The sensors that produce those numbers are meant to be used in environments where the chemical identities are known and it’s a process to use those numbers in place of expensive testing for those chemicals. It’s a surrogate measurement.
But using those sensors in unknown environments can give a false sense of security. The chemical and particulate emissions from printing are going to be very different from burning a candle or outgassing from auto interiors. The amounts may be comparable but without more analysis those VOC and PM numbers don’t mean much.
The printing of the final version is only a fraction of the total printing hours as I go through many iterations during prototyping. If the final version uses non-PLA, I turn on the exhaust fans for the duration of the printing and an extra hour or two after depending on the smell.
Yes, the type of the particles matters. That’s why it is good that PLA Pure uses only 5 ingredients each of which EU food contact certified.
That said, there is no “good” pollutant PM2.5 no matter what they are. We don’t have to be paranoid and stop living, but when possible taking measures to reduce exposure makes sense, particularly to sensitive people.
I mostly do PETG on 1 printer and TPU on the other, the window is open at this season. I am not alwaysin the room. I run an HEPA air purifier, do you think it has any effect ?
Do we think the HEPA filter/purifier has any effect? It will depending on how much particulate emissions your printers put into the air. HEPA filters don’t help with volatile organics though.
I agree. Particulates may take over as the major danger as the VOC emissions go down.
And to be clear, I’m not arguing against PLA Pure. It appears to be better than other filaments in terms of VOCs.
People just need to be aware of the issues they expose themselves to and decide what risks they are willing to accept for themselves and anyone else who might be exposed.
Tiny little bits of plastic could collect in the lungs and cause irritations. That’s how asbestos works. Sharp fibers cause scarring in the lungs which hardens them and makes breathing difficult. Eventually cancers/mesothelioma develops.
Plastic shards could be more benign or more aggressive. Not sure there is much history or evidence to know but that’s what we are playing for.
I’ve got a lot of hours of my own sitting just a couple of feet from my running printer but have been trying to be more careful. When it’s printing I stay out as much as possible but still get exposures. Those “bento boxes” can probably really help. I think Printer McGee did some experimenting to see when he was working with air quality monitors and saw significant improvements.
I’m older, though. I don’t have a full lifetime ahead of me for effects to develop. I get to wonder about all my other exposures to other things during my life.
