3D Printer Safety

 

Before buying a 3d printer you should be aware of a few safety aspects of your new printer.  There are many ways in which you or your home could be damaged.  I will cover these and I will make recommendations as to what can be done to prevent them from occurring. So, lets go over some of the ways you could get hurt.

Injures

Pinches - 3D printers are unforgiving, if you stick your fingers or hands in-between the moving parts of the printer you will get pinched or worse you could lose a finger or even a hand.  The problem only worsens with the size of the printer.  There is not much you can do to prevent this from occurring except to not not do it.  Also, please keep little ones away while the printer is running.  Maybe someday manufacturers will add some sort of safety device but for now just be aware of the hazard.

Burns - 3D printers get hot!  I'm not joking here, they can reach temperatures of over 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Keep in mind that these machines are designed and built mostly in China and use the metric system, so just because the thermostat is reading 220, which is in Celsius and not Fahrenheit, it is very hot.  Even the build plate can exceed temps of 250 degrees Fahrenheit.  I've been burned by trying to clean filament off the print nozzle.

Cuts - If you don't think a 3D printer can cut you, your wrong.  Some printers come with a paint scrapers that has been sharpened for removing the print once done.  Do not remove your print with this by pushing the blade toward your hand, arm or body.  Always push the blade away from you!  I have gouged fingers in the past.  Lucky for me it has always only been a small cut and not needed stiches. So, you removed your print from the build plate and avoided cutting yourself, its safe now right, NO!

Eye Damage - Now you have remove your supports by snapping them by hand or with tools.  What could possibly go wrong?  Well what if a piece of that sharp support pops off and fly's right into your eyes. Ouch, that could be very serious, you could even loose an eye.  We will be covering ways to protect your eyes in the coming paragraphs.  But first we have one more possible problem.

Fire - This is no joke 3D printer get very hot as I mentioned above.  Don't start a 10 hour print in your garage and walk away.   Check the internet there is story after story of homemade 3D printers catching fire and destroying property.  This is an electrical fire and can be very serious.  Check that your printer has Thermal Protection built into your software.  In the next paragraph I will cover what we can do to be safe.

Protection

So, now you know what possible injuries or damage that could occur while 3D Printing, but how can you stop or at least mitigate these? Here I will cover such things as Gloves, Goggles, Fire extinguishers and Fire detectors to hopefully prevent these things from occurring.  But please beware that just having these things around will not prevent injures or damages. The user must take that first step and actually use the equipment!

Gloves - please don't just buy any gloves though.  Look for Cut Resistant Level 5 Protection gloves.  You want gloves that will protect your whole hand and fingers.  Then wear them every time your hands come anywhere near the 3D printer or the object your printing.  These will also protect you from the heated elements of the 3D printer.

Face Shields and/or Goggles - In the past I have had pieces of support come dangerously close to my eye.  When I was scraping on a part in which a removed piece became a projectile.  But not just projectiles, there will be times when you you might be handling liquid chemical such as alcohol, resin or acetone. These are all splash hazards.  So, be sure that you are wearing Face shields and/or chemical safety goggles.

Class C or D fire extinguishers - The fires we are concerned with are called energized because they are electrical in nature.  Do not use water on a class C or D fire as you may electrocute yourself. Class C fire extinguishers are for electrical fires. Class D fire extinguishers use a powder to extinguish the flame and are for fires where metal is burning.  Also, please consider turning off the power to the house if possible.

Fire Detectors - Most do not have a fire detector in their garage, so if that's you then add one!  This is probably the cheapest and easiest way to prevent a fire.  If you are not planning on monitoring those long prints up close and personnel, then install Octoprint on a Raspberry Pi with a web cam so you can observe the print from a cell phone or your computer inside the house.

Conclusion

So, I've covered what I believe to be the worst dangers in 3D printing,  these are not the only one though. Carnegie Mellon has developed a safety guide for download at the following link Carnegie Mellon University 3D Printing Safety - Guidelines.  Download it and read it!  Buy some Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).  Keep in mind that all this equipment can be bought cheap and in the long run sewing a finger back on or rebuilding a house will never be cheap.  I just want you to have fun and enjoy the your new hobby.

Please let me know about what you have done to be safe or any experiences that you have had while 3D printing good and bad?