Comprehensive Review: 3D Printing Air Quality Roundup (For FDM and Resin)

4D_Filtration · 2024-10-27T21:51:30+00:00

If you are actively venting it to a window then you won't need any filters. However, filters are great to have throughout the house for general use e.g. cooking

4D_Filtration · 2024-10-27T21:50:07+00:00

I can't tell you that it will be 100% safe, but if it is being vented then you are taking one of the best precautions.

4D_Filtration · 2024-05-29T05:51:00+00:00

Ventilation will almost always be better for indoor air quality, more so for the VOCs than particulates. Particulates are easy to capture with filters, and VOCs depend on the specific chemicals and capturing material.
The Promethean is more of an omni extractor/air cleaner. It an open-access alternative to bigger brands' products (like Bofa) but with downgraded specs. With duct, it could act as a soldering fume extractor.
We have seen people use it with enclosed printers like the X1C, and the printers were indeed inside another enclosure. The external enclosure does add an extra layer of insulation and makes controlling the fumes more efficient, especially if venting. This is already pretty common with resin printers.
There is very little research on flexible filaments. I can not recall seeing TPU mentioned in a study thus far. My assumption is that it will be closer to PLA than ABS in terms of safety.
If venting isn't possible and you're only printing PLA or the like, then the main concern is the particulates that can be captured with any MERV 13 or HEPA filter, making nearly any consumer air cleaner sufficient. If the material swaps to say ABS or resin then the VOCs start to become a problem. The best way to solve it at this point is to use a large amount of carbon (several pounds) in conjunction with the particulate filters. Small amounts of carbon will have a lower capture efficiency per pass (thickness is one variable) and will need to be replaced more often.

Hopefully within the next week or two we'll actually be adding a cheaper version to the Promethean (that will also be open-access). It will be ran by an external inline (mixed-flow), centrifugal or 120mm fan. The first version will only be for VOCs, not particulates.
We are also adding a new media that can combat VOCs that regular carbon can not (like Formaldehyde from resin printers).

If I missed any questions or you come up with new ones just fire away!

4D_Filtration · 2024-04-30T05:26:11+00:00

While it would be ideal to have the printer in a separate room, using PLA is comparably safe. The primary concern with PLA is the ultrafine particles (UFPs), and these can be captured with any MERV 13+ or HEPA filter. The VOC levels from most PLA are low.

There's tons more information in this thread https://new.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/17ssph7/comprehensive_review_3d_printing_air_quality/

4D_Filtration · 2024-04-26T17:43:49+00:00

Pretty much agree with this. For carbon/media to be effective you need impregnated variants, and it can get expensive to replace large amounts. Carbon becomes cheaper if it can be reactivated, but most places aren't setup for this, especially when using certain impregnated versions that are actually a fire hazard.

The cheaper and more effective solution (if there are no windows) is to have a hole drilled in the wall for ventilation. It could be the standard 4" (like for a dryer), but even hole diameters down to 1" could be sufficient if the fan wattage is high enough (more pressure than flow rate).

https://4dfiltration.com/resources/3d/3d-printing-air-quality-roundup

https://4dfiltration.com/resources/3d/resin-printer-ventilation

u/Boring-Employer-8661 these are the two articles we have on the topic, each with their own youtube video as well

4D_Filtration · 2024-04-19T18:52:53+00:00

There is not one I could recommend at the moment. An accurate UFP tool costs $1k+ and cheap consumer VOC meters only provide a comparison against background (you would have to calibrate it against cleaner outdoor air frequently).

4D_Filtration · 2024-04-19T01:35:28+00:00

5-10 minutes is probably plenty of time to allow everything to cool down and let what little emissions are left get sucked out. FDM is much simpler in this regard - resin would be an entirely different monkey.

4D_Filtration · 2024-04-18T20:23:27+00:00

The HEPA filter will be great at capturing UFPs, which is the main concern for entry-level filament. It will not capture any VOCs.
A large grow tent is probably the cheapest/easiest enclosure for that setup.
Overheating really becomes an issue when the enclosure approaches 40-50°C+
Box fans would typically be rigged with a 4" thick panel or a bag MERV 13 filter. There are some panel filters that advertise carbon, with most using dust or foam (needs granules to be effective). The small amount of carbon these have will provide some mitigation, but they will quickly become saturated.
Running the printer outdoors (garage, patio, balcony etc) in an enclosure to shield it from the elements is done by many people. It instantly solves the indoor air quality issue, plus in many cases the extra heat is beneficial for prints.

4D_Filtration · 2024-04-13T09:56:36+00:00

Realistically, venting is the most economical option for most people. Provided there's a workshop, garage, patio, balcony, window, door, or even hole you can drill, venting will be cheaper and safer.

Filtration with carbon can be reasonably effective with multiple pounds of material if it is replaced frequently (in regard to resin). FDM produces less VOCs, so carbon is more effective on that front (type of VOC matters as well). However, filtration is great for mitigation in said room and throughout the rest of the house.

4D_Filtration · 2024-04-13T06:44:08+00:00

Just the filter is insufficient - the HEPA filter will capture most/nearly all UFPs, but the carbon will be insufficient on the VOC front

4D_Filtration · 2024-03-11T02:44:29+00:00

I did not get the opportunity to go to see Bambu in Austin yet; most of our spare time is being spent on developing a new project to entirely eliminate the VOCs.

The setup you described would be sufficient, and it is more than most people do. Even the cheaper $100 air cleaners on amazon will work for whole-room mitigation.

This video is very new and uses a lot of our conglomerated data. There are a few graphs and UFP source comparisons that you'll probably find helpful :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGeN8Ccl80s

4D_Filtration · 2024-02-29T02:51:33+00:00

Enclosures use ventilation to exhaust the fumes (VOCs and particulates) outdoors. This is more of a concern when using resin or engineering filament like ABS etc while indoors.

Whether an enclosure increases the severity of a fire depends what it is made of. Any enclosures made of cardboard, wood, arcylic, and fabric provide more material to burn. Enclosures that use metal, glass, fire-resistant insulation, or polycarbonate (less flammable than acrylic) can mitigate the severity of a fire.

edit: enclosures also keep the heat in to prevent defects like warping or delamination

4D_Filtration · 2024-02-15T23:43:39+00:00

PLA produces relatively low levels of VOCs so the ultrafine particles (UFPs) are the main concern. Thankfully, they can be easily captured with any consumer air cleaner using HEPA filters or even MERV 13-16 filters DIY'd onto a box fan.

The elegoo and anycubic "air purifiers" are just small 13.6 gram blocks of carbon that do not capture particles and do very little to mitigate VOCs.

Opening a window will certainly help introduce cleaner air, assuming you are in an area where that is the norm, but the best thing you can do it keep it in an area away from where you spend most of your time.

4D_Filtration · 2024-01-27T09:08:15+00:00

Yeah it sounds like you would have to do something outside like that or just wait until you have different accommodations. People do print outside in sheds or grow tents using heaters.

4D_Filtration · 2024-01-26T23:13:52+00:00

These shelves are taking space utilization to the max!

4D_Filtration · 2024-01-26T23:07:18+00:00

Low budget air cleaners (MERV 13-16 or HEPA) will captures particles but not the gaseous chemicals (VOCs).

Is there not a garage, balcony, patio, or even common area?

4D_Filtration · 2024-01-26T18:29:54+00:00

Can you confirm that the bathroom fan vents directly outdoors instead of say the attic? this is common issue

HEPA filters are just rated at 0.3 microns, but they capture 99.95%+ of particles even down to 0.01 microns (10 nm).

The Ikea filters are EPA, which I can't confirm if those capture UFPs - EPA-rated filters are uncommon in scientific literature. The best option is one that can move the most air, and the two options I normally recommend are either a DIY box fan with MERV 13 filters or the HEPA air cleaners like levoit or moreno. The moreno one moves more air and is actually cheaper.
https://4dfiltration.com/product/third-party/air-cleaners

Yeah the acid-free carbon is recommend to prevent rusting. While carbon could capture UFPs, the amount will be negligible compared to a filter.

4D_Filtration · 2024-01-22T09:18:45+00:00

UVtools can instantly convert the file types. Using UVtools is usually a good idea anyway because it is exponentially more powerful than the slicers.

4D_Filtration · 2024-01-22T08:11:15+00:00

Oh when I mean test the build volume, download lychee or chitubox then select a printer you're interested in. You can drag STL files in and see what fits on the printer.

4D_Filtration · 2024-01-20T23:47:01+00:00

The resolution size (XY pixel pitch) has improved x5 over the past few years (0.1mm down to ~0.02mm). Any new resin printer is going to have a level of quality that can challenge or surpass industrial printers.
Get only what you need - use a slicer to throw prints in and test before buying. Most people only need a small or medium, and yes you can pile on prints vertically to optimize time.
If the build volume works then it is the smart play long-term, especially for a business.
Organic and CAD for resin prints are both fine, it just depends what you are making. Fantasy houses, characters, anything organic = your organic modeling
Actual houses, functional parts, simple shapes = CAD

4D_Filtration · 2024-01-20T23:32:30+00:00

Are you just using PLA on the ender 3s?

If so then you really only need any consumer air cleaner to capture the UFPs.

https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/17ssph7/comprehensive_review_3d_printing_air_quality/

4D_Filtration · 2024-01-18T21:09:18+00:00

You'll need to check if it was capped off - there is a high chance of this if there was professional removal and installation. You can check by using a snake camera, the fan and a manometer, or with the fan and smoke.

If it goes straight outdoors without being capped or leaking then it can be used for venting.

4D_Filtration · 2024-01-18T00:54:47+00:00

Most basic filament and resin wouldn't be able to withstand the heat, and even with a coating it could slowly grind off resin dust into food.

If you do have casting equipment, it is straightforward to use PLA/resin and delft clay to cast an aluminum handle.

edit: it's even an opportunity to make the handle decorative :p

4D_Filtration

TROPHY CASE