One of the aspects that is important to consider when 3D printing is safety.
With traditional FDM printing, this primarily relates to fire safety and air quality.
Thankfully, fire safety is not really an issue due to the lack of hot parts.
You can carefully filter unused resins back into their containers to reuse in the future. Image source:Formlabs
The situation is slightly different with SLA and MSLA resin printers, though.
Contents
Toxic Effects
3D printing UV curable resins are an irritant.
Contact with your eyes can lead to permanent damage if not thoroughly cleaned immediately with water.
Immediately seek medical attention if you ingest any resin, do not induce vomiting.
Ventilation
As with any 3D printing, ventilation is important.
The resin curing process gives of Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs and other irritating and toxic substances.
Ventilation helps to keep the air in your workspace safe to breathe.
Contact Safety
Whenever handling resins, wear nitrile gloves.
We recommend that you also use eye protection to prevent accidental splashes from causing eye damage.
Immediately clean up spills with soapy water and a paper towel wet with isopropyl alcohol.
Carefully remove contaminated clothing and immediately wash them with detergent.
You should, unfortunately, dispose of any contaminated leather goods or shoes.
Do not pour any unused resin down the sink or drain as it is also toxic to the environment.
Where possible, you could save money and reduce disposal efforts by reclaiming unused resin.
Pour any remaining resin into its original container through a polypropylene or stainless-steel mesh.
see to it to not cross-contaminate different colors or types of resins.
it’s possible for you to also safely dispose of resins by curing them.
Leave resin out in direct sunlight or otherwise expose it to ultraviolet light until it fully hardens.
Hardened resin is perfectly safe to dispose of.
However, be careful not to overexpose the resin as the UV light will eventually break it down again.
you’re able to carefully filter unused resins back into their containers to reuse in the future.
Have you got any other safety tips for dealing with resins?
Let us know down below.
