If you're smelling a strong odor then a respirator would be advised. You need one with an organic vapor cartridge. Surgical mask is doing nothing for you in this situation. Probably easier just to get some good ventilation going though. Or minimize you time around the printer.
this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
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I could open my garage door however I am worried about letting in sunlight and ruining and/or damaging the prints.
I will take a look for the respirator and cartridges you mentioned!
In addition to other suggestions, you could also set up a barrier (cardboard box) that would shade your printer from direct sunlight when the door is open.
You also don't need the door open fully. Just open a few inches and turn on a box fan.
That's exactly what I was doing when I used mine. Used the cardboard box the printer came in, and cracked the garage door with a fan pointed at the printer towards the door
You could also just let the print finish. Then open the door before you go out there to gather it. giving it a few minutes to vent. I have minimal experience with resin printing so I don't know how the sunlight would affect it. Putting the printer behind something to block the light seems reasonable as well.
Good luck. You can find these respirators on Amazon. 3m is a common brand.
The mask that comes with resin printers is about as effective as a bandaid for a gun shot wound.
I wear a 3m respirator with filters specd for VOCs.
I'd also recommend getting one of the carbon filters that goes inside of you resin printing enclosure as they do a lot for mitigation of gnarlyness.
Also having your printer in an enclosure that exhausts fumes right out your window is good for your health.
Keep an air filter in your room that has a decent amount of carbon for a carbon filter in it as that is good to have as well.
AFAIK the problem with resin printing is vapors, not particles. A respirator may help, but it is no substitute for proper ventilation.
Ventilation is the way to go. Still, respirators have different filters for different chemicals.
Don't quote me on that: A1 to A3 is what you should get. Still, check the list if it is the right filter for your 3d-printer resin (epoxy resin).
I don't use a respirator at all, but I also don't hang out in that room while it's printing, and I have a small air purifier that runs in there full time.
A additional concern with resin printers is VOCs, Volatile Organic Compounds, which air purifiers don’t really filter out since they’re focused on particulate cleaning. Sadly there is no solution like dilution, or in this case ventilation
I also don't hang out there while it's printing in my garage. Generally I spend less than 20ish minutes while I clean one print and get another one going.
Same here. As long as there is decent ventilation in the room you're printing in and you don't hang out excessively in the room while printing you should be totally fine. Eye protection and gloves are far more important imo
I wouldn’t be in the room where the resin printer is printing, if you have to they make small carbon filter devices that sit inside the printer that help a lot. I would then also get a cheap room fair purifier and sit next to it as well.
Resin is a pain because it can be pretty toxic all around
Edit: I meant to reply to the OP with this, but I’m too lazy to move it ;)
I do have eye protection and gloves... I probably should be using those more than I do. So far mask has been the one I use most frequently.
You should be using gloves anytime you are working with liquid resin. Skin contact with resin can cause/worsen a resin allergy over time. I've read accounts of people unable to be in the same room as an open bottle of resin because their allergy got so bad. Uncured resin is highly highly toxic
Ventilation is key. If you can exhaust the fumes to a window with a fan that would be ideal, and a respirator should be a secondary option. Though if you must, you need something with OV on it for organic vapours.
Supplied air system is fantastic if you can't ventilate. I got a 2 man hobbyair setup on ebay for $200 mostly for isocyanates with painting cars. Might not be the best choice for you but figured I'd throw it out there
Good ventilation is key. Afterwards, if you're still getting a strong odor find a comfortable respirator (ones with expiratory valves will be best for comfort). The apparatus itself doesn't matter much. As long as it gets a good seal on your face. That usually means you'll have to go without facial hair if you have any, otherwise it could cause leaks. It's the cartridges that will be doing the work. I'd recommend a 3M P100 filter of some sort for best quality. 3M being the brand, P100 being the percentage of air that is filtered. If you have facial hair and want to keep it, a PAPR apparatus would be best. Source: EMT, we're trained and fitted every year for N95s, respirators and PAPR.
Edit: as others have said you're probably better off just not being in the room while the printer is running. Getting respirators and filters can get pretty pricey
I use a 3M 6200 half mask and 60923 cartridges. They’re good for organic vapor, some acids, and P100 (99.7% particulate blockage including oily particulates )I keep it on a hook near the door and use it for painting and epoxy work in closed areas. Cheap and effective, iirc the cartridges only need changing every 100-200 hours of use.
Full 3m respirator. Safety glasses. Water proof rubberized apron. Long sleeves. Gloves always.
I don;t use a respirator, but I also use Ecoresins or water washable resins, and they have very low odors. I recommend AnyCubic Ecoresin.
Unfortunately odor level != poison/voc levels. Even though I am not following my own advice and don't use full on respirators while resin printing, it's still wise to use it at all times not depending on the train type.
Ecoresins definitely have much lower VOCs than most resins, so they are safer. And odor does strongly correlate with VOC level since there are very few VOCs that are odorless.
On a separate tangent for me, working in a chemistry lab I breathe in way worse shit, so I don't care about some resin, the long term damage is extremely minor.
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