www.buildings.com: When we think of 3D printing, thoughts of medical advancements and manufactured parts for cars and airplanes come to mind. It’s a groundbreaking technology that’s only becoming more popular – and more accessible in non-industrial environments like offices and schools. In 2018, the industry experienced 21 percent growth and has exceeded $7 billion, according to Forbes.
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I have often wondered if anyone was doing research on the health effects on 3d printing. I had the suspicion that it would not be the greatest for us to be in a room with 20+ of them going at once, and now it seems like I was right. I think it is important with new tools and innovations like this to be cautious about what health effects they can have. Especially when they involve melting large amounts of plastic over long periods of time in a confined space. To me, it is the same issue with electronic cigarettes. Sure they are probably no worse than real cigarettes and they seem harmless enough, but with new things like this, it is impossible to really know what kind of adverse effects they can have until maybe years down the road. It may seem cool and flashy to have things like 3d printers and laser cutters being used in the industry now, but it is also to consider what other negatives they could be bringing along with them.
As an avid hobbyist in the 3D printing world, I always find articles like this one interesting and informative. Given the novelty of 3D printing, it is clear that we still don't know much about the effects of these machines on us and our environments. Though I knew that melting plastic gives off fumes, I never realized just how heavy the emissions from 3D printers are. I recently invested in a SLA printer, which uses photosensitive resin instead of melting plastic. With this format, there are warnings everywhere about the toxicity of resin and the fumes it gives off. I always wear gloves and a respirator when I work with this printer. However, FDM (melting plastic) printers don't come with these warnings. People leave them running in their offices, garages, living rooms, and even bedrooms. The fumes build up, all the while we are unaware. The danger of FDM printing should not be ignored!
I’ve personally never used a 3D printer before, but I had always wondered how it worked. As mentioned in the article, the 3D printer was a new phenomenon that everyone wanted to try out. But, with every step forward comes a setback. Along with many other forms of advanced technology, the health risks are high and dangerous. Studies show that a certain type of particle was found in the air which was being produced by the 3D printer when in use. This particular particle affects your respiratory system, specifically. The team wanted to look more into why it was producing so much and do a couple of experiments in order to find out more information. They had discovered that the result of the hefty waiting game with the 3D printer was that it allowed the machine itself to secrete particles that were in fact unnatural and unsafe to be around or breathe in. With this they discovered that because the machine lays out the product that it is printing in layers, then it uses “heat or adhesion” to keep it all together.
So I guess my CS teacher in high school wasn’t as crazy as I thought after all. I remember back in my sophomore year we first got a 3d printer and I really loved the new found capabilities of the machine and began to learn the ins an outs but the following year I found that we were getting the addition of four more but when I returned to school the next fall they had all been moved to their own well ventilated units which for me was just annoying as they were no longer as easy to use and set up due to their poor construction and design but ultimately looking at this study and thinking of how much it may have helped people makes me really appreciative that the school decided to do it. Now I just wonder what the next steps will be in creating a safer and cleaner 3d printing machine.
Similar to Cooper, I too had wondered if someone was doing studies on the health implications of 3D printing. Back at school, the lab my robotics team worked in had a 3D printer, but never once had I second guessed working right next to it while it was busy printing. Maybe it had crossed my mind that the smell it produced also meant it was not good to be breathing in, but never did I do anything about. I hadn't thought about it creating noxious fumes until one of my favorite woodworking Youtubers did a video where he built an enclosure for his 3D printer when he moved it into his small office. Now thinking about it, it is obvious. How could the melting of plastic not be at least somewhat noxious? This article has definitely given me a new found respect for 3D printers and how dangerous they can be. I definitely will think twice before staying near a 3D printer for an extended period while it is printing.
With the constant inventions of new fabrication techniques that are more and more available to people working from their homes, I often wonder how well the health implications are actually thought through. The residual particles in the air from materials being warped and any sort of exhaust from a machine is something to be concerned about. This is especially relevant for something that is make to go in an environment without monitored regulations for ventilation and personal safety procedures. I think especially in educational environments that have a desktop 3D printer not because anyone in particular knows how to use it, but because the school wants to be able to say they have the technology. I am really curious how built in safety mechanisms and personal use of this equipment will change, now that it is something that has conversation going around it, and evidence discussing effects.
As someone who has no experience with 3D printing, I have always been incredibly interested in how it all works. Fundamentally, I understand that it is a softening a plastic and a computer controlled applicator lays it in certain areas to build the desired object. One day I was working for a couple hours on a vacuform machine and the softening of plastic raised health awareness concerns that I can see being applied to desktop 3D printers. I would assume that this health risk would increase or decrease based on the type of material that is being used to print. I am very excited to see how 3D printing evolves, however, because I have already read other, more extensive, articles on different materials being used to print and perhaps more sustainable materials. The primary issue I had with this article was the length and comprehensiveness of it. Articles regarding health implications generally grab people's attention and, personally, I was let down by the content of the article.
I dont think I had ever imagined that something 3D printing would have been so readily available to everyone and not just to some few experts. It is something that is capable of adding dimension to a 2D visual and thereby increase the overall effect of the visual that is being presented.
But as they always say, with every new invention attached are some disadvantages that have some harmful health implications. 3D printing is not any different.
This article does a great job in explaining that, especially for a layman like me who has no idea about how such types of printers work. This article gives useful insights on the functioning of such printers and how this procedure causes the implications it does is really helpful and eye opening, because these are dangerous if not handled properly with the correct precautions.
3D printing is such a useful thing only if it is practiced wiht the appropriate measures.
It was really interesting reading this article but not surprising at all as all machines have some bad chemical release. However what I found more interesting was reading all the comments about people’s experience with 3D printers and the lack of safety around them. I am not shocked at all but the unsafe practices happening around 3D printing but I hope that this starts being a thing of the past. I hope one thing brought into high school education and especially high school educational theatre is the need to know what your working with. I personally am always learning about how things I used to do were dangerous for me and I wish that there wasn’t a laxidazicle nature toward safety especially in community theatre environments. I find it interesting that the Purnell 3-D printer isn’t in a well-ventilated space and wonder if there is a way to add ventilation to that space. I hope safety practices around 3D printers improve in academic settings.
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