Additive Manufacturing - 3D Printing - Human Effort Industrial Engineering

2018

Particle emissions from 3D printers

At MakerBot, the NIOSH field team used two different methods to evaluate and compare emissions. The field team evaluated particulate and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from simultaneous operation of up to 20 desktop 3D printers in a conference room.

During 3D printing, respirable particulate concentrations were non-detectable (below 0.03 micrograms per cubic meter, µg/m3) and VOC concentrations were well below applicable occupational exposure limits (OELs). Particulate and VOC concentrations measured in the conference room during 3D printing with 20 printers were much lower than those measured in the test chamber.

 True Orange PLA filament produced lower ultrafine particle emissions compared to published results from other emission tests in the scientific literature such as He, et al [2007], Stephens et al. [2013], and Stefaniak et al. [2017].

https://www.ishn.com/articles/109236-characterizing-3d-printing-emissions-and-controls-in-an-office-environment