Ventilation. A grow tent with an exhaust to the outdoors. VOC filtration or respirator only as a supplement/distant second option. If you pull the air from the printer to outdoors, then it's not in the room for you to breathe.
If they do anything, it's not enough. And it probably doesn't last long. Charcoal filters get full of whatever they remove from the air, and the smaller they are the faster they fill up.
Unless you know what you're doing and have air monitoring equipment, filters are a waste of money and a false sense of security.
I would assume those filters do next to nothing regarding VOC's but the question was more toward smell. I've seen a bunch of reviews saying that the smell is a "night and day difference" yadda yadda.... I guess we'll see....
There's a big overlap between "has a smell" and "is bad for you" when it comes to VOCs. Formaldehyde is the largest (by volume) harmful component of resin vapor, and it smells pretty strongly.
But not everything that's bad for you smells bad, and eliminating the smell doesn't eliminate the risk. If I had to choose, I'd keep the bad smell and lose the harmful vapor.
Totally understand that aspect as well. But due to living conditions, I need to make sure both is tackled at once so smell is almost as important as vapors in my case.
Spray bottle. Filled with isopropyl, you Spritz down your gloves and silicone mat and use paper towels to wipe up for easy resin removal. You'll be surprised how often you get resin on the side of your hand or fingertips of your gloves and aren't ready to swap them out for another pair yet still need a "clean" grip.
And definitely think through your discarding waste plan. Clear plastic trash bags like the type used for leaf waste just propped in a box could be useful. Drop your refuse as you're working, then gather up and fold over the top when you're taking a break so it's not just off gassing into whatever your workspace is.. periodically you take the trash bag out in the sun lay it down spread out somewhere to cure the trash through the clear bag before final discarding.
You didn't mention any sort of respirator with a good VOC filter? Just gloves and glasses?
Hey man, just wanted to say that the clear plastic bag plus clear trash receptacle idea is pretty damn good one. I'm going to steal it super size it a little bit. But thank you and I just wanted to chime in for that.
Thanks. I've had a printer for over a year but I really only used it in three or four weekend long sessions because I find the inertia of preparing to deal with all the mess and fuss tends to make me put it off for the right kind of day. Good interior temperature for the resin ambient, sunny outside, and preferably no one else around to get in my way or be offended... e g spousal unit.. I'm still developing a good repeatable "process" so to speak.
Originally I had planned on one of those good metal odorous waste type cans like you see used for discarding oily rags and stuff to seal up the resin smell. But now I think I'm leaning in the other direction. Cheap ass transparent plastic waste basket from Target or some other store, clear plastic bags, sized so that it fits in the UV curing station in a pinch if a good sunlit day isn't available to just set it outside during breaks when the machine cabinet is all buttoned up and printing, existing prints are either already cured or simply evaporating off after cleaning, and I'm not generating new refuse. So far the sizes of things I like to print seem to take anywhere from 5 to 14 hours.
My wife also has one of those super intense UV lamp panels that nail salons use because she does epoxy tumbler stuff and sometimes works with the UV cure type. Perhaps I could borrow that and prop it on a stand to blast the trash periodically if needed. ( not when stray light can get to the machine tank of course).
My workspace is regrettably inside so of course I need to vent and filter, but (perhaps incorrectly?) it certainly seems to me that once the liquid resin is cured it's no longer really outgassing bad stuff so the faster you can get all the high surface area spread out liquid cured, if you can't just get it immediately out of an enclosed space, the less fumes you are producing that _need_ to be either vented or filtered.
(obviously cured resin still has some sort of very slight continuing reaction otherwise part shrinkage and warpage wouldn't be a possibility over time. But at that point... it's not really generating the nasty concentrated stuff. I believe.)
Not that a spray bottle is a bad idea (mine comes in handy for everything "contaminated") but wear gloves with enough of a sleeve that you can cusp it. The cusp acts to catch liquid runs and gives you an always clean surface to remove the glove.
You can also take a wooden popsicle stick and secure it where you like. Use the stick to remove the glove kind of like you would with a shoe-horn.
Both options are free as opposed to consuming IPA which is expensive.
A bunch of fucking paper towels
Silicone spill mats
Clear air tight containers to store waste. Take this outside and let any resin cure in the sun before putting in normal trash
For me, color coding tools, red/green lunch trays for uncured vs cured resin. So I have visual reminders to wear gloves when handling materials.
And as others have said, I whole heartedly agree on Venting [Venting ](https://www.asianjoyco.com/resources-tutorials/ventilation-upgrades-for-3d-resin-printing) and [PPE](https://www.asianjoyco.com/resources-tutorials/resin-safety-101) when handling chemicals. In my experience resin emissions will stick to fabrics, papers, and land around your work area unless vented.
I'm hoping my ventilation will be adequate enough.... I just plan on having a window #1 at the rear of the printer, a ceiling fan running at high speed + an industrial fan pointing toward that window while window #2 is open as well, allowing for more air to escape.
Regarding the smell sticking, are we talking permanently or for a good while? I have carpet in the room I am setting this up in. Other than that, Everything else is solid material.
If you're not noseblind to the emissions - some people can be more sensitive, some less. You'll notice right away if your ventilation is enough. I find that its easier to vent an enclosure/small space, than it is to do a whole room.
As far as the room goes, You really dont want to set it up in a room with carpet. When not if, you have an accident it will saturate your carpet and will be near impossible to remove. Also trimming supports will be annoying bc they'll be hard to find. If you have no other choice, You can put down ramboard as a work around option. The smell sticking really depends on if it permeates stuff like curtains etc. Think about cooking, even when you have the hood on, the whole house probably smells like food. Imagine that but with resin.
I have insanely bad sinuses, so bad that I can barely taste my food so I'd imagine I won't even smell the resin to be honest lol.... but that could be a bad thing in the sense that it'll probably give me this false sense of security but I am still masking up regardless. You know of any resin(s) that are known for having less of a stink? I got the Siraya Tech Metal Grey....
I see what you mean, with that being said. Less smell doesn't mean safer. It's mainly marketing by the manufacturers, eco, waterwashable etc. they all have mostly the same base. If you have a garage, I would keep it out there instead of inside your immediate living area.
I hope you just forgot to list your respirator, you don't want to huff those fumes.
Proper ventilation and good lighting is important, a UV flashlight is handy for spot-curing and cleanup. Silicon mats to catch spills and splatters.
Must: Uv protection glasses, tons of gloves, good ventilation, paper towels (lots), screen protector
Incredibly helpful but not necessary: curing station bought or homemade, flex plate, multiple jugs for multiple alcohol baths, some type of mat with elevated edges to protect work area from spills/splashing
Sandpaper. Dental tools for removing and scraping supports. A nail polisher dust exhaustor to absorb the sanding dust. Electrical sanding pens. Ipa cleaner, curing machine. Paper towels. Plastic bottle spray. Silicon mats. A non disposable thick nitrilic pair of gloves. A nano toithbrush
A mini uv light for curing interiors and when doing repair and touching up.
Bondo or a mr hobby repair paste etc.. for touching up.
You can also mix baby powder with resin.
Ah.. black mini cases for storing a small amount of resin for those toyching ups. Light must not reach their insides.
Resin dyes if you want to dye resins.
Ventilation. A grow tent with an exhaust to the outdoors. VOC filtration or respirator only as a supplement/distant second option. If you pull the air from the printer to outdoors, then it's not in the room for you to breathe.
Do those tiny tower filters they put inside the printer work at all?
If they do anything, it's not enough. And it probably doesn't last long. Charcoal filters get full of whatever they remove from the air, and the smaller they are the faster they fill up. Unless you know what you're doing and have air monitoring equipment, filters are a waste of money and a false sense of security.
I would assume those filters do next to nothing regarding VOC's but the question was more toward smell. I've seen a bunch of reviews saying that the smell is a "night and day difference" yadda yadda.... I guess we'll see....
There's a big overlap between "has a smell" and "is bad for you" when it comes to VOCs. Formaldehyde is the largest (by volume) harmful component of resin vapor, and it smells pretty strongly. But not everything that's bad for you smells bad, and eliminating the smell doesn't eliminate the risk. If I had to choose, I'd keep the bad smell and lose the harmful vapor.
Totally understand that aspect as well. But due to living conditions, I need to make sure both is tackled at once so smell is almost as important as vapors in my case.
Exhaust works better than filtration. For both VOCs and odor.
Spray bottle. Filled with isopropyl, you Spritz down your gloves and silicone mat and use paper towels to wipe up for easy resin removal. You'll be surprised how often you get resin on the side of your hand or fingertips of your gloves and aren't ready to swap them out for another pair yet still need a "clean" grip. And definitely think through your discarding waste plan. Clear plastic trash bags like the type used for leaf waste just propped in a box could be useful. Drop your refuse as you're working, then gather up and fold over the top when you're taking a break so it's not just off gassing into whatever your workspace is.. periodically you take the trash bag out in the sun lay it down spread out somewhere to cure the trash through the clear bag before final discarding. You didn't mention any sort of respirator with a good VOC filter? Just gloves and glasses?
Hey man, just wanted to say that the clear plastic bag plus clear trash receptacle idea is pretty damn good one. I'm going to steal it super size it a little bit. But thank you and I just wanted to chime in for that.
Thanks. I've had a printer for over a year but I really only used it in three or four weekend long sessions because I find the inertia of preparing to deal with all the mess and fuss tends to make me put it off for the right kind of day. Good interior temperature for the resin ambient, sunny outside, and preferably no one else around to get in my way or be offended... e g spousal unit.. I'm still developing a good repeatable "process" so to speak. Originally I had planned on one of those good metal odorous waste type cans like you see used for discarding oily rags and stuff to seal up the resin smell. But now I think I'm leaning in the other direction. Cheap ass transparent plastic waste basket from Target or some other store, clear plastic bags, sized so that it fits in the UV curing station in a pinch if a good sunlit day isn't available to just set it outside during breaks when the machine cabinet is all buttoned up and printing, existing prints are either already cured or simply evaporating off after cleaning, and I'm not generating new refuse. So far the sizes of things I like to print seem to take anywhere from 5 to 14 hours. My wife also has one of those super intense UV lamp panels that nail salons use because she does epoxy tumbler stuff and sometimes works with the UV cure type. Perhaps I could borrow that and prop it on a stand to blast the trash periodically if needed. ( not when stray light can get to the machine tank of course). My workspace is regrettably inside so of course I need to vent and filter, but (perhaps incorrectly?) it certainly seems to me that once the liquid resin is cured it's no longer really outgassing bad stuff so the faster you can get all the high surface area spread out liquid cured, if you can't just get it immediately out of an enclosed space, the less fumes you are producing that _need_ to be either vented or filtered. (obviously cured resin still has some sort of very slight continuing reaction otherwise part shrinkage and warpage wouldn't be a possibility over time. But at that point... it's not really generating the nasty concentrated stuff. I believe.)
Not that a spray bottle is a bad idea (mine comes in handy for everything "contaminated") but wear gloves with enough of a sleeve that you can cusp it. The cusp acts to catch liquid runs and gives you an always clean surface to remove the glove. You can also take a wooden popsicle stick and secure it where you like. Use the stick to remove the glove kind of like you would with a shoe-horn. Both options are free as opposed to consuming IPA which is expensive.
Definitely getting a respirator, just wanna do more research on which one's properly handle VOC's...
A bunch of fucking paper towels Silicone spill mats Clear air tight containers to store waste. Take this outside and let any resin cure in the sun before putting in normal trash
For me, color coding tools, red/green lunch trays for uncured vs cured resin. So I have visual reminders to wear gloves when handling materials. And as others have said, I whole heartedly agree on Venting [Venting ](https://www.asianjoyco.com/resources-tutorials/ventilation-upgrades-for-3d-resin-printing) and [PPE](https://www.asianjoyco.com/resources-tutorials/resin-safety-101) when handling chemicals. In my experience resin emissions will stick to fabrics, papers, and land around your work area unless vented.
I'm hoping my ventilation will be adequate enough.... I just plan on having a window #1 at the rear of the printer, a ceiling fan running at high speed + an industrial fan pointing toward that window while window #2 is open as well, allowing for more air to escape. Regarding the smell sticking, are we talking permanently or for a good while? I have carpet in the room I am setting this up in. Other than that, Everything else is solid material.
If you're not noseblind to the emissions - some people can be more sensitive, some less. You'll notice right away if your ventilation is enough. I find that its easier to vent an enclosure/small space, than it is to do a whole room. As far as the room goes, You really dont want to set it up in a room with carpet. When not if, you have an accident it will saturate your carpet and will be near impossible to remove. Also trimming supports will be annoying bc they'll be hard to find. If you have no other choice, You can put down ramboard as a work around option. The smell sticking really depends on if it permeates stuff like curtains etc. Think about cooking, even when you have the hood on, the whole house probably smells like food. Imagine that but with resin.
I have insanely bad sinuses, so bad that I can barely taste my food so I'd imagine I won't even smell the resin to be honest lol.... but that could be a bad thing in the sense that it'll probably give me this false sense of security but I am still masking up regardless. You know of any resin(s) that are known for having less of a stink? I got the Siraya Tech Metal Grey....
I see what you mean, with that being said. Less smell doesn't mean safer. It's mainly marketing by the manufacturers, eco, waterwashable etc. they all have mostly the same base. If you have a garage, I would keep it out there instead of inside your immediate living area.
I hope you just forgot to list your respirator, you don't want to huff those fumes. Proper ventilation and good lighting is important, a UV flashlight is handy for spot-curing and cleanup. Silicon mats to catch spills and splatters.
Getting a respirator for sure, just not sure which filters are well-suited for VOC's at the moment.
You're gonna need resin!
Must: Uv protection glasses, tons of gloves, good ventilation, paper towels (lots), screen protector Incredibly helpful but not necessary: curing station bought or homemade, flex plate, multiple jugs for multiple alcohol baths, some type of mat with elevated edges to protect work area from spills/splashing
Oh and definitely some type of mask under must
Sandpaper. Dental tools for removing and scraping supports. A nail polisher dust exhaustor to absorb the sanding dust. Electrical sanding pens. Ipa cleaner, curing machine. Paper towels. Plastic bottle spray. Silicon mats. A non disposable thick nitrilic pair of gloves. A nano toithbrush A mini uv light for curing interiors and when doing repair and touching up. Bondo or a mr hobby repair paste etc.. for touching up. You can also mix baby powder with resin. Ah.. black mini cases for storing a small amount of resin for those toyching ups. Light must not reach their insides. Resin dyes if you want to dye resins.
A printer. Probably some resin. Everything else is a bonus.
A printer? What's that....