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Tips/Techniques What are you printing today?

Tips/Techniques
Double check those waffle irons, the older ones often have reversible irons with flat on one side for 60's mom making grilled cheese sandwiches. Better yet, you could make waffles.
 
yeah I checked every one of them to see if the griddles came off or reversed. not a one. It's a good idea. but no not making waffles with plastic in them! 😛
 
3D printer airborne pollution? Got any concerns? This shows the spike in PM2.5 coming off my machine for a print. I'm not sure how to assess this but I'm going to try to reduce it greatly as it seems to me like I'm breathing plastic.

My next project is to complete a filter system based on the IKEA UPPATVIND filters. There are downloadable prints for this.

1794102042145.png
 
Janger said:
3D printer airborne pollution? Got any concerns? This shows the spike in PM2.5 coming off my machine for a print. I'm not sure how to assess this but I'm going to try to reduce it greatly as it seems to me like I'm breathing plastic.

My next project is to complete a filter system based on the IKEA UPPATVIND filters. There are downloadable prints for this.
Click to expand...

FDM is just as great a concern as resin printers, and yes you get VOCs and ultrafine particulates, so small the penetrate deeply into the lungs.

Oh and they don't filter well using any desktop filter either. Exhaust fans are required for optimal health and safety. Or not, I'm in favour of Darwinism
 
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TorontoBuilder said:
FDM is just as great a concern as resin printers, and yes you get VOCs and ultrafine particulates, so small the penetrate deeply into the lungs.

Oh and they don't filter well using any desktop filter either. Exhaust fans are required for optimal health and safety. Or not, I'm in favour of Darwinism
Click to expand...
Well I'm going to try using the ikea UPPATVIND filter anyway and see what happens. Here is one half of the filter holder, the other half is on the printer. https://www.printables.com/model/1281236-ikea-uppatvind-core-one-hepa-filter-landscape/files

1794238682175.jpeg
 
Dan Dubeau said:
Quick and simple zip tie holder I designed and printed this morning. File below if anybody wants to print one too.

View attachment 89117
Click to expand...
The best zip tie storage hack I've seen yet is to just cut a short slit, shorter than the zip ties, in the middle of the bag. Just reach in and grab one by the middle and it will pop right out. They can't fall out on their own because the slit is too short and with it being in the middle of the bag, the ends won't reach the slit even if you shake the bag.
 
Doggggboy said:
The best zip tie storage hack I've seen yet is to just cut a short slit, shorter than the zip ties, in the middle of the bag. Just reach in and grab one by the middle and it will pop right out. They can't fall out on their own because the slit is too short and with it being in the middle of the bag, the ends won't reach the slit even if you shake the bag.
Click to expand...

Yup, that is the absolute best way I've found for keeping them in order on the job. I have a bag in my mobile box just like that. At home I don't want the bags though.

One of the reasons I bought ASA filament was so I could glue it to abs pipe and make a holder just like this (and other types of stuff) with various abs pipe scraps around. Only having to print the bottom.....Well, I never did get around to it, and got tired of not having one, so I just let er eat.
 
Janger said:
Well I'm going to try using the ikea UPPATVIND filter anyway and see what happens. Here is one half of the filter holder, the other half is on the printer. https://www.printables.com/model/1281236-ikea-uppatvind-core-one-hepa-filter-landscape/files

View attachment 89185
Click to expand...

It's all a matter of capture... trying to force all the particles thru the filter is like herding cats. Recirculating filtration is a difficult task to accomplish.

Printing chambers leak like sieves. Attachment points leak... spaces around the filters in the racks leak.

I'm sure you'll see a reduction in particulates, but little to no reduction in VOCs with the ikea uppatvind filter. Being a hepa filter that filter has a high static pressure drop and that could impact all your printer's default settings as the chamber heating and cooling ratees will be impacted, so that's something to look out for.

This is why industrial hygienists prefer to utilize local exhaust ventilation, such as a dedicated vent hood with engineered airflows and physical barriers to establish a negative pressure zone that captures and contains hazards directly at the source.

I'm not talking expensive or fancy here either, I'm building a hood from corroplast and an ecm motor bath fan from panasonic. Short walls projecting down to surround the printer on three sides for about 6 inches. That is enough to ensure pollutants are captured by the hood and exhausted.
 
Made these receiver plates for the truck.
I give them out as door prizes at our card tournaments.
 

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Janger said:
Well I'm going to try using the ikea UPPATVIND filter anyway and see what happens. Here is one half of the filter holder, the other half is on the printer. https://www.printables.com/model/1281236-ikea-uppatvind-core-one-hepa-filter-landscape/files

View attachment 89185
Click to expand...
The filter made a dramatic improvement in PM1 and PM2.5 particles. I observed the following in my office. However...

1794326190339.png

However, this article outlines additional concerns these simple filters do not cover as TorontoB was describing. I also have two open frame printers without an enclosure, a bambu A1 mini, and my old Prusa MK3+. What to do about those?

https://layercraftlog.com/fdm-printing/essentials-for-safety - highlight from the article

Enclosure Ventilation Standards​

A passive enclosure does not equal safety. Per ANSI Z9.2-2018, local exhaust ventilation (LEV) for additive manufacturing must achieve ≥12 air changes per hour (ACH) with face velocity ≥0.5 m/s at the enclosure opening. For a typical 60 cm × 60 cm × 60 cm enclosure (216 L volume), this requires minimum airflow of 64.8 m³/h (≈17.9 L/s or 38 CFM).​
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Many users install 120 mm PC fans rated at ‘100 CFM’—but static pressure matters. At 10 Pa backpressure (typical for activated carbon + HEPA filters), most 120 mm fans deliver only 22–33 CFM (per manufacturer datasheets from Noctua NF-A12x25 and Delta AFB1212SH). Always size fans using the fan curve chart—not the free-air rating.​
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