Where do you place your printers?

[MK]

California has designated air as a carcinogen.   

[peteski]

Scott, I made my comment in-jest, and I'm pretty sure Chris and Mike did too.  There is nothing wrong practicing safe handling of chemicals.  It is actually the smart thing to do (although some people do take chances).

[Chris333]

Search it, rain water no longer safe. That stuff they invented in Teflon is everywhere now. 99% of people have it in their blood. A man made chemical. Dupont.

[MK]

PFOS/PFAS the forever chemicals.

[Chris333]

[cgw]

Getting back on track there is a good blog post on the Prusa website on the health and safety questions of the sla printers and chemistry.   It is a good read. The info applies to all photo initiated cure resins.  My set up I have the printed in a ventilated room along with disposable gloves and a trash bin just for paper towels and such when I wipe up the spills.    A little caution when working with these materials will go a long way in protecting your health.   

[Chris333]

I keep a squirt bottom of alcohol next to the printer. If I get a drop of resin somewhere I wipe it up with alcohol. I wear one glove to hold the model and a scrub it with a brush using the other hand. The only time I smell the resin at all in when I open the bottle and re-fill the vat. 3 min. later the smell is gone. Plus the lid is kept on the machine.

[svedblen]

Thanks for all your comments. No agreement on whether the printers really impose any smell or health problems it seems (regardless of how much protective measures you take). But all the same, my conclusion is it would be best to not let one into a spare bedroom, directly adjoining the rest of the living space. A garage, basement or shed seems to be a more appropriate location.

[Chris333]

Think when they call it an irritant, that is like an allergy. Some people are bothered by it and some aren't. I can't stand bleach. My eyes water and it gets hard to breath. But resin doesn't do a thing to me.

[sd80mac]

My set of Mini Air Purifiers from Elegoo came yesterday. I'm going to try them today as I have some more plows to print and I would rather have the printer inside for convenience and post processing sake.

[Chris333]

[Chris333]

I see the guy in the video wearing gloves and making a mess to remove prints from the build plate. My printer is sitting on a table upstairs. I take the build plate off and tip it sideways to drip off in the vat. Then I slide a foam plate under the build plate and move over the table to pop the print off onto the foam plate. I do all of this without a drop of resin getting on me or the table so I don't wear gloves. The only time I have ever cleaned the build plate is when I need to use it to zero. I put the plate right back on the machine and run the next print. So far all of this is pretty clean. The only time it can get messy is when I get a failed print. And the mess is mostly because I'm pissed

Now I take the foam plate to the basement next to the sink where I have the 2 containers of IPA. I put one glove on and grab the part and use a chip brush with my non gloved hand to scrub the parts. I blow them off with air. This can leave a mess so I made a little 3 sided cube of 36X36" cardboard from work to blow into. You can skip the air I guess. The air also blows the glove off my hand  and I re-use the same glove for a few weeks until it get a tear or hole. I set the used glove on another foam plate because the glove gets sticky after a while. The basement cleaning area can get a little messy with splashing alcohol around. I use an old board, but the guys idea to use a plastic sheet is an idea. But this area is right next to my sink.

I keep a quirt bottom of IPS up stairs and down along with paper towels to clean any mess. Might get spray bottles instead. Keeping the lid on the machine keeps any smell away for me. Cleaning the prints with IPA has a stronger smell than any resin to me. But the IPS is fine to me.

I use cloth lint free chem wipes from work to clean the FEP so it doesn't scratch.

[sd80mac]

I’m with you Chris. Many people have made comments about how messy the process is, but it’s only messy if you’re messy!

[Lemosteam]

I’m with you Chris. Many people have made comments about how messy the process is, but it’s only messy if you’re messy!

Or clumsy.  Chris is used to handling paint as it is a second profession.  Me, I can look at something sideways and it will fall over and spill ruining something.  SERIOUSLY.

I find paint, chemical and especially resin handling too be extremely nerve-wracking to the point where I have broken prints.  Ham handed as they say.

[Chris333]

  Ask me how many times I knock the bottle of CA over when building a model.