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Comment by iqster | Hacker News Reader

One thing that should be noted is the burning smell of ABS plastic. I got a 3D printer in my office that is currently serving as a paperweight on my desk. That is until I get access to a lab with an exhaust hood.

All my previous experiences with 3D printers had been in outdoor/well ventilated environments so this issue hasn't come up. I'm surprised how little people have talked about this.

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It does get talked about, but mostly in the depths of 3D printing forums, rather than on blogs. ABS fumes seem to affect different people differently. Some people are rather unaffected, and others get slight headaches. PLA fumes smell more pleasant (some say like popcorn) by comparison, but that doesn't mean it's good for you.

http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?1,40296,40355,quote=1

On the forums, there are links to toxicology datasheets if you like to look into it.

I always print in a well-ventilated space. Do you think it'd help if I added a section on this?

I think this is an important issue. I didn't think about fumes when I got the printer. Someone who sat next to me started getting headaches. Also, another colleague was concerned about the effect of burning ABS on reproductive health (she pointed me at a study which I don't have a pointer to now). To run these devices in a corporate environment, it isn't enough that I be satisfied with a scientific paper (rightly so .. I'm a computer scientist and this is not my expertise).

Edit: Thank you for the link. It helps to educate myself on the topic!

3D printers are shop tools, not office tools. It's just that because they don't produce swarf people think that placing them in an office is ok, but I'd rather have a benchtop CNC mill running in an office than a 3D printer.

Activated carbon filters are reputed to take care of this. Suck the air from your printer into an activated carbon filter and you can let it back into the room. Trivial if your printer is already in a box, still easier than cutting a hole through your wall and running a duct through the "important guy with a window"'s office.

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