Testing My 3D Print Farm Air Quality

[@fredrikbystrom7380]

Hi Sam and the community. I've done some tests on this myself and thought I'd share. I'm running a Prusa within an Enclosure that has an air filtration system in it. Right outside of my enclosure I've got a capable air quality measurer. What I've found: - VOC's tend to increase more than PM's when 3D printing PLA or PETG. I'm primarily going on VOC's when deciding I need to ventilate my space. - PLA is better than PETG which is in turn better than ASA. - The more "simple" a filament is, the less it tends to pollute. I.e. a simple white PLA pollutes significantly less than a glitter shiny pearl silk PLA. - Air filters (at least the one that comes in the Prusa Enclosure) work fantastically for removing pollutants, but like all air filters it's noisy. - Just an enclosure without an air filter also works pretty well at trapping VOC's and PM's. - A cross-breeze in your space for just 2-3 minutes is enough to completely expel all VOC's and PM's (at least all that I can measure). - (some?) VOC measurers can give incorrect readings based on non-hazardous stuff in the air. For example, my VOC meter always spikes when I'm boiling water at the other side of my home. Just because the VOC's are spiking, doesn't necessarily mean there's something bad in the air. - Anecdotally, I'm convinced there definitely are negative health effects from inhaling filament pollutants, based off my experienced brain fog and minor headaches. I take this seriously and nowadays I always run my air filter when printing, even if it's noisy.

[@ivangutowski]

Thank you, very useful insight. Interesting how boiling water is detected far away and how quickly the room can be cleared with windows open

[@2manytoyz123]

I worked many years in the aerospace industry, and spent many of them in clean rooms. Look into laminar air flow. Draw the air in near the printers, duct it to the far end of the shop, and blow the filtered air back towards the printers. This will keep the bad air at the source. But as you’re discovering, the printers aren’t the only source, and not even the highest source. You should also take some sample air readings inside various rooms in your house, and your RV. Your shop may be one of the lower particulate locations, especially if you have carpet in the house.

[@Samcraftcom]

Thanks for sharing! I'm going to have to look at the air quality in different areas of my home.

[@mkzenthusiasts]

That's similar to my idea of installing an HRV the exhaust would be near the printers and then the return would be someplace else in the shop but it would bring in fresh air from outside that would help reduce the VOCs

[@mick-ebeats5376]

Thanks for posting this video! Many viewers will check their air quality in their shops, thus helping them protect people’s health. I recently bought one P1S and noticed the smell from the PLA prints. I too purchased a air purifier for the room and it has helped.

[@billytalentrocks345]

I can feel my eyes get irritated, like they are dry or I am sleepy. I think it is the PLA fumes.

[@kevind716]

Sam the air you are cleaning is just circulating back into the fan. If you can suck air in close to the printers and then blow it out at the other end of the shop you’ll get much better circulation. Maybe do that through the attic

[@MrAfusensi]

It's not supposed to be a single pass filtration. You would need better filters for that and is less efficient.

[@Samcraftcom]

I'll look into it, thanks for the suggestion!

[@timjones6684]

You definitely need to be exchanging your air with outside fresh air. Your filter is recirculating some level of pollution. Just be sure you pull fresh air in from the opposite end that you vent air out

[@4140ajj]

I've got a reasonably small room (with one window) that I have a couple of old Creality machines and an X1 Carbon. I used to have a cough quite often/for a long time and thought it was just a cold that wouldn't go away. I only really print with PLA and people say it's safe, but I'm pretty sure it was that causing the cough. Now I have a carbon air filter in here and it's massively better.

[@DesignsByBrodhead]

Great video as always! I chuckled when you said you were going to double or triple your amount of printers in the next 6 months - that’s so awesome, seriously. Keep it up!!!!

[@Samcraftcom]

Thank you! I just subscribed to your channel and look forward to following your journey too!

[@Jerzy1207]

I love that you’re doing this. There is. It enough information out there and was one of my concerns before purchasing and running one of these in my home. Looking forward to future vids and results.

[@Thatplumberguy1995]

As an hvac guy. You would probably benefit from some for of erv exchanging and filtering air from outside in and inside out. In addition to some point of use exhaust ducting.

[@jesusislord2457]

Thank you for sharing this! I hope you, Angela, and the ferrells have a wonderfully blessed Christmas and a much better new year! I love you all!!! ✌️💖🙏🙌🫂😘🤜

[@Samcraftcom]

Thank you, Merry Christmas to you and yours, too!

[@paulgattini5075]

happy new year, like the video. I've used an off the shelf product from Coway airmega jet with greenHepa and active carbon fibre (which will tackle your VoC issue) The company does bigger units for larger spaces, the airmega jet cleans up 104m2 room. The unit has been running for almost 2 years on a 24/7 bases and haven't had any issues

[@nathanbarry9534]

The cheapest particulate filtration you’ll find is a CR box- 4 20x30x1 3M filtrete MERV13ish furnace filters from Costco plus a box fan. For VOC, the grow filters from vivosun or ACinfinity with a duct fan.

[@neverendingstudent]

The DIY Corsi-Rosenthal is great: both very cheap and immensely effective, far more effective and moves more air than most commercial air filters. If you can find some activated charcoal foam to layer inside of it you can get the VOCs as well, though it of course depends on the filter quality.

[@jackcoats4146]

If you can get a 1/8" or more activated charcoal filter mat to wrap around the shop air filter on the outside, it should collect quite a number of VOCs.

[@davidwoodruff5609]

Totally love that you’re focusing on this and thanks for the feedback. I would also recommend you think about the noise too as a consideration. Speaking from a veteran who have lost hearing in one ear and the other is pretty bad. One thing people don’t think about with regards to hearing loss causes is the constant SPL levels over time. Everyone including myself and I am an A/V engineer focus on the loud sudden noises like gun shots and hammers etc… check with OSHA and look up acceptable levels of long low exposure too.

[@Samcraftcom]

That's a great point, I will definitely look into it further!

[@vdubber252k]

As for getting quieter air cleaning I suggest looking into Nukit Tempest air cleaner, about the size of a large PC case, uses PC fans but makes it very quite. Can even suspend them near your ceiling if u need floor space etc. As you mention scaling up I'd also look into mechanical heat recovery ventilation systems, cycles out stale hot air, mixes new fresh air, it filters and brings in fresh air without the big heat loss during cold seasons.

[@diepurpledino]

Cheap source of carbon filtration with very high capacity are the home Mary Wanna grower fans they sell on Amazon. They're supposedly for indoor greenhouses - yeah, the kind that emit the skunk scent. They hold several pounds of activated charcoal in the filter.

[@gaiustacitus4242]

You could try the carbon filters and fan combinations used for grow tents. I incorporated a 6-inch diameter unit from AC Infinity into the custom filter designed for my xTool P1 and it works very well to remove residual fine particles that cause odors. I looked at similar products from Vivosun and iPower when designing my air filtration system. The fans on these filter systems are variable speed and can be configured to produce noise levels of 55 dB or lower. FYI - I haven't tested these units to see how well they do at removing odors from open spaces. Of course, if I perform any operation that produces odors my wife deems to be offensives, then I will be solving that problem.

[@mikepetitt9624]

Great video Sam! So for my wood shop I have been doing the same kind of study. My shop is 630 sqr feet. I have he same dust filter as you on my hacked harbor freight dust collector. In addition to this I have two large wen air scrubbers. So as careful as I am I could not believe the volume of fine dust particles I have been scrubbing from my shop environment! They cycle the volume of air in my shop I believe 3-4 times per hr. I have decided to add a third scrubber ! Lung safety is no joke! I also have issues with my feet so installed rubber horse stall mats through out the entire building. This is my concern for Voc’s ! So wen andIm sure other companies they make voc filters to add to these units. Ya they are costly but at what cost? Your life is priceless. Sam I would as a quick fix just add a voc filter screen to the top of your home made unit . Not perfect by any means but it would offer at least a little extra protection until you figure out something better. As far as noise what is you made Avery small extension to the outside of your building that would house an external fan scrubber system then you would only have to run ducting into the building? Most of the noise would be outside?

[@wafflecart]

Great video! I have that temptop monitor and get exact same result as you printing PLA. At the start when it's loading the filament or purging the particulates spike to over 1000 then it comes back down after a few minutes. What would worry me is if you had a multicolour print this purging could be happening 100s or a thousand times during a single print with a bambu ams, multiply that by many printers and air quality could get real bad. I also don't measure any VOCs from the printer itself but if I'm using isopropanol alcohol, stuff to clean or happen to be using tape or permanent marker in the vicinity I do. Currently I have my printers in a very small room, I knock open a window and with a Coway Airmega Mighty on full speed I can get the particulates down to single digits which is good enough for me as it's better air quality than any other room haha.

[@Acidrain50001]

You are right with the cost for carbon and really it'll only work for the smell not much on cleaning the air. The best bet would be a heat exchanger have it filter the air out continuously. Good luck with getting it cleaner!

[@slickrick37]

Thank you for making these videos, Sam. Would be cool to visit your shop one day.

[@goatweedwillie5349]

Just getting into the 3d printing, and I was wondering about this. Thanks for vid!

[@mkzenthusiasts]

You could install an HRV heat recovery ventilator to bring in fresh air that would improve the air quality and remove the VOCs. You would need to have somebody come in and design the layout for you as far as where the exhaust is in the fresh air returns are. Matt from the build show on KZbin here goes into HRVs and whole slew of HEPA filters and whatnot for his home that he built in Texas. I suppose a unit alone for that shop would be around $1,200 plus the installation parts and pieces and whatnot

[@jimrosson6702]

Great video Sam. Thanks for sharing

[@SW-lw6mt]

There was a recent study where surgeons biopsied deep lung tissue from patients undergoing surgery for other issues. They didn't expect to find much since it was really deep in the lungs and usually particles are filtered before they reach this deep. They found micro plastics in that tissue, if it's in lung tissue it's also going around in your bloodstream circulating around your body and it doesn't take much to guess what this will cause. While I enjoy 3D printing, we really must think about the rampant plastic pollution that we're all contributing to and probably making worse.

[@antoniocarulli1225]

Fidati, non è la mia stampa 3D che faccio al mese ad inquinare😘

[@court2379]

​@@antoniocarulli1225Right! Printing is a drop in the bucket compared to other plastics use.

[@RealCoreyJWilliams]

Bro, you plan on doubling or tripping your shop! That’s awesome

[@jdeack]

Thank you Sam!

[@lonestarcollectiblezcom2602]

Sam, very interesting video and really glad you're looking at solutions for your shop to keep yourself healthy. I thought of one idea with your loud filter system, would there be a way to mount it externally to your shop and the noise would be outside when you run it and still get the benefit of reducing the bad air quality from inside your shop. Just an idea, I know this comes with some thought for you, since you'd have to make it weather proof and all. Thanks and let us know your results and follow ups from this video that you come up with! Congrats on continuing to grow your business. Thanks, Brian - Prosper, TX

[@unspeakableoaf]

Leave the filters on. Maximum safety, always. As for the noise, you can eliminate it if you use DaVinci Resolve Studio (the paid version, $295 if you're in the US, or free with a more expensive camera), The noise removal in that is fantastic. You can literally record yourself talking next to a busy 18-lane highway and have the final video only play your voice.

[@gunningopher]

I've started investigating this myself now hat I have moved toh ABS, ASA, PA and PC, all sometimes with fibers. I actually rarely use PLA anymore. I have an Amazon air filter meter but I never look at it, to be honest. I live in Southern California, and I decided just to blow the air out of my room to the outside with a fan. I also use a P1S with a bento Box, so I'm doing a decent amount of filtering already. Clearly in a shop like that you need to consider things very carefully. I like your big filter. I wonder it you just blow a small volume of air out of the shop to the outside and bring in fresh air if that would make a difference. I suppose that it matters what the outside weather is like in your area.

[@WhereNerdyisCool]

Exhausting the air outdoor would be ideal. Filtering helps for sure but getting that contaminated air out is best. There’s some guidance from the EPA and CDC on the risks of 3D printing fumes. All materials - it isn’t the old school of thought that PLA is fine, ABS is bad. PETG is also quite bad. In the lab they’ve found these particles kill cells and cause massive inflammation. Print safe!

[@johanjansen6828]

Sam perhaps considder mapping out you work shop with high to low and isolate the area wher your high is from the rest of the work shop. Then consider ventalating the are isolated. This will mitigate the risk of exposure. Just my 5 cents of advice. Never the less good content videos and blessings with the expantion of your bussiness.

[@jd_foils1496]

You walking around on that plywood floor is likely your greatest source of particles, followed by your cardboard shipping materials.

[@MattWeber]

Let alone the crap that plywood offgases from the glues for years.

[@cc_snipergirl]

I have a DIY home filter using a $20 box fan, a furnace filter, and a smart plug so the noisy thing only runs when I'm not there. I like yours more though, it probably works better.

[@ausfoodgarden]

Great video Sam. PLA does seem pretty air-friendly, but others can be awful! I only have 4 printers but they are in a tiny room under the stairs, a bit like Harry Potter🤣 I do have an extractor fan to dump the air outside if it starts getting stinky. Cheers!

[@robertbates5537]

Another thing to consider. Test for PFAS/PFOS in the products you are creating and selling. Do the filament sellers provide information regarding PFAS/PFOS content of their products?

[@kevinrich4637]

Thank you for this post! Appreciate the information!

[@beardboss20]

Great video! Have you ever addressed power and energy? I'm always nervous which outlet and breaker I have my single printer on, so would love to see how you address energy consumption and power usage.

[@richardmilner4392]

I use ionizers, Alpine air, this is the one I use and it kills all the smell in a room. It covers up to about 2700 square feet.

[@Tr1mace]

hi Sam just wondering if you thought of putting them in enclosers and make them all share the same vent for an idea🤔🤔

[@aware2action]

The way to find about air quality is to trust your 🫁 and 👀. Best way is to group all printers in one large closet, with negative air pressure. Run a timed exhaust/filtration cycle before entering. Use a VOC certified mask to limit exposure.

[@cecilcalton1737]

Another great video.... good information ...

[@danfirek9762]

I would talk to an h vac to see if you have positive pressure in your work space. automatic dampers might make sense (I'm not a h vac) and they might have some ideas too

[@amcustomfab]

Congrats on 100k

[@apsilonblue]

Not an expert and haven't researched it all but my gut feel is those "OK" readings on those meters are intended to mean it's OK right now in terms of immediate exposure. Long term exposure like all day every day in your work or living space is probably something else entirely.

[@tek9058]

best would be to install transparent doors and stay on the other side. it's also easier to vent or filter a small room.

[@OneSolidCube]

a couple of the ikea filters work well and are fairly quiet... i think they had hepa and carbon and are cheap... the names are fornuftig and uppatvind

[@Gryfang451]

Thanks for the "Entertaining" PSA. I have one printer in my garage for ABS / ASA. It stays there, right beside the SLA printer for obvious reasons. My other printers are in a fairly small space that I run an air purifier in on low or medium most of the time. I would be interested to know what PETG and TPU do as well if you have the time.

[@THEMANCAVE2023]

The smell does not mean air is bad. I exhaust my printers out the back for everything but pla and petg pet cf just because I don't like the smell. I use qidi low odor and and it's much better love the channel sorry this is voice to text

[@zjdoliver]

Hi Sam, Thanks for the video and regarding safety and health along with testing the air, but talking longwalks and exercise, improved diet would also be beneficial to ensuring a longer, happier life.

[@vlyq1]

I think it would help, for more accurate data you should run the air filter without any printers running for 1-2h ( however long it takes to filter all the air in the room ) and then turn it off before measuring the data

[@vlyq1]

Im a beginner to 3d printing but I think it would help ( let me know if im wrong )

[@fr.jessiesvlog]

thanks!

[@tim71291]

Would look into a draft ventilation system collecting from each printer, along with a positive-flow fresh air source... and I think you are smartly thinking ahead about the health of your lung and ears. If you are going to double/triple your farm, you certainly will benefit from partitioning the production from your general work area. Mrs. Samcraft might not care for another building, but planning for airflow in the design would best instead of being added in later.

[@elvenprints]

I am a freak, I love the smell of melting PLA. Like stamp rubber coming from the press. It may be bad, but actually I don't care. But I am trying to get experts explaining it to me HOW bad PLA may be. This video helps a lot, thank you! PS: I just run ONE printer, PLA only. I hope Sam is safe with his 1000 printers 🙂 11:26 SAMs health is way more important! :-D

[@makertime5000]

Great info! Being you print jigs with a lot of flat top surface was wondering if you iron the topmost layer or have other settings that give a nice top finish.

[@WindCatcherRC]

What are your VOCs outside? What is the baseline for your area? Great video! I love the smell of PLA. Air quality is a concern for what we do too.

[@ryanclapp6467]

MIRV-15 can filter of that size?!? Wow! If I may ask, where did you procure one of that size? Is it a standard? We've been making use of 'box filters' on the fronts of standing 20" and 24" box fans, but the highest they go is MIRV-10, and very restrictive - we normally run MIRV-5's. EDIT/UPDATE: I made it to the point in the video where you directly talk about this. Maybe I should have some dang patience when watching YT more, lol.

[@M0PAX]

I would stay away from carbon filters as you will need a HEPA filter before it, to protect it for particles as they will block the carbon in next to no time and the other problem the cost and shelf life is low. Laminar flow is a good idea. You would have to be careful of air flow as it will disturb the printers. You could partition off the printers to keep the problems contained in a small area and a lot easier to control. VOC will be coming off all products, when you had the high reading by the dispatch area, I would say it will be the glue on the tape and glue holding the carboard together.

[@tdplayert]

hey, thanks for the video! I'm still watching. Side note, I would love to see a video that gives some insight into your financials - not to get all your details out in the open, but more from a standpoint of what can be expected to see as returns from a properly lead, healthy 3d farming business in the more or less-attainable mid range. Like, what kinds of turnover, profit, ballpark size, are we looking at :)

I will just tell you three things... CO2 levels are rarely at 0 and all it takes is for you to be in the room and breath. I already gave my 2 cents on humidity levels on your other video in regards to ESD. If you're looking at cycling your air you will likely need an ERV. The last one, laminar flow is the only way you can get rid of ambient contaminated air near your printers. Lots of microbiology and chemistry labs are equipped with cabinets. Operating rooms and clean room are all laminar flow. If I were you I would just go with somewhat enclosed chambers shelving for all your printers. You're going to chase ghosts deploying HEPA filtering solutions everywhere in your work space.

[@GeorgeSomething5]

Still less than cooking some foods. :) Great videos. PLA is my choice in general unless a specific job requires it.

[@davidmann4436]

Thank you for your video, Sam! This question you may have addressed in a previous video, but what point models are you using on the A1 header, USB power cable and the other side that goes into the housing? Looks like you have a cable reinforcer/stabilizer?

[@creativecraving]

You lack a good _control._ What are the VOCs like in your home? In your car? In the back of the shop furthest from the printers? How about particulates/cubic meter? Like you said, we don't know if 1.5 VOC is high or low.

[@Technobby]

The majority of particulate matters are smaller than 2.5 micron, 3d printer product very very tiny under 0.3 micron particulate matter. That's why normal consumer air quality tester cannot test it. For VOC, if you smell, it definitely present (even if no smell there might present too). The reason, again, general consumer air quality tester reports low because its sensor not built to catch so much different type of VOCs which 3d printer filaments releases. The best bet is to vacuum out and exchange more air in. Anyways, any forms of health protection would be welcome.

[@lorencaulum5344]

Just started watching so this might be covered. The term is airborne microplastics. Sounds sort of like breathing asbestos fibers. Probably should check it out?

[@aelidrissi3584]

Very useful! Why are you mainly using A1?

[@sharonromer6606]

🙋‍♀️👍🤗Have a Merry Christmas to you and yours❤❤❤❤

[@rickpouley7561]

Sam, I would think that your mini split system would be able to handle all of your printers and future ones right?

[@CiprianGheorghe]

Hello, the smell is in the range of PM 0.02-0.3. Measuring PM 2.5 and PM 10 is pointless because these are much larger particles; the smell comes from very fine particles.

[@Romancelanguagespassion]

It's true

[@kurtXhecticXpl]

I don't know if that's true, but sounds smart.

[@CiprianGheorghe]

@@kurtXhecticXpl Well, the virus that I don't want to name because it will surely flag my comment, the one that took over the entire globe a few years ago, should have taught us this information. Through a surgical mask, which filters PM2.5, you can still smell odors, but with an N95 mask (beware, there are many counterfeits), which filters PM0.3, the intensity of smells is significantly reduced.

[@CiprianGheorghe]

@@kurtXhecticXpl Also, a standard air purifier won’t help you get rid of odors or particles smaller than PM2.5. An odor filter needs to be made of activated carbon. However, 99.9% of the activated carbon filters on the market are ineffective because there’s no regulation for the required amount of carbon per square meter for it to qualify as a carbon filter, making most of them inefficient. A particle filter capable of filtering below PM2.5 must be a HEPA 13 medical-grade filter. From my knowledge, in Europe, the only genuine HEPA 13 filter I’ve found for purchase is from Philips. The world of air purifiers is full of marketing and scams. Recently, I educated myself in this field because I built a filter for my laser, which includes a HEPA 12 pre-filter, a HEPA 13 filter, 2 kg of activated carbon, and another HEPA 13 filter.

[@billytalentrocks345]

This is not how pm2.5 works. If you measure pm2.5, you measure all particles below that size, so [0, 2.5] range. For pm10, it is [0, 10] range. Any particle of size 0.3 would be included in both pm2.5 and pm10. Given that your sensor can go so low. Not sure if they specify a minimum particle size.

[@woodknack1]

What are you prining on your print farm?

[@chugstep33]

I would be curious what a couple rabbit brand air filters would do for your shop. I know they use them in cigar lounges and they work really well in that environment which is way worse.

[@mauiwh]

Hello Sam: I’d like your opinion I’m new to 3-D printing and I have very limited space. I know you have large racks for your industrial printers, but I have a very small space and was wondering what kind of table you would recommend for the bamboo A1 printer I have to keep it in my garage so I need the smallest table available. Do you have any ideas? Thank you so much

[@skapi__1724]

Would be great if you could get some PETG filament, even just some samples and just print anything on all of your machines and compare the results because PETG is the second most popular filament type on the market and it should be a lot worse than PLA even tho it's still considered very safe.

[@chuckm3520]

Be sure to check outdoor air quality for comparison.

[@Samcraftcom]

Good call! I'll have to do that.

[@MattWeber]

Yup and make sure you are monitoring when any climate control is running. "Fresh" air being brought into the space from air exchangers, air duct dust, etc all can then be causing much more than anything the printers may factor.

[@ivansmith654]

Good luck on your business, thank you peace!

[@ivansmith654]

100 your health, great video dude!

[@mnelson10000]

In my opinion, partitioning off the farm and ventilating it outside is the only way to go. It can be done very inexpensively, needs no consumables, and you don't need to depend on some questionable meter to know that it's working!

[@wafflecart]

It's not a questionable meter, that brand sell expensive industrial meters and are good. In my testing it picks up particulates and VOCs very well. You can open a permanent marker a few meters away and it picks it up, you can spray deodorant or use isopropanol alcohol and it picks it up, even cooking/burning food in another room it picks it up.

[@chadklima9183]

Sam, Great video. I just got to time stamp 13:32 and while you are talking and you hold the meter up it is reading Unhealthy on the screen.

[@wafflecart]

I know this sounds mad but it could be from his breath in that instance, I have the same temptop monitor and if you breathe close to it the VOCs go up haha.

[@o1ecypher]

rub carbon fiber filament on your finger and then look at your finger under a usb microscope. you will find carbon fibers under your skin pierced and embedded i only use clean PLA for now. having the printers in an enclisure with air cleaning finlter and it would also help incase of a fire with printer, it would be in a case. well hope i helped

[@MrAfusensi]

Check out some PC fan DIY CR box solutions for your filters. They are quiter and can put mutliple in different locations.

[@creativecraving]

14:46 Instinctively, I nearly ran to my printer... but I'm not printing anything right now!

[@TacoBurger213]

Have you given up on lasers?

[@jackcoats4146]

A company called AirGradient has a good air monitor. Not real cheap, but not to expensive.

[@heffe2001]

Wow, thoes look pretty nice, and are already implemented in HomeAssistant.. Might have to look into their 'kits' at some point, but for what they do, even the non-kit version isn't to terribly expensive. Yet another thing to put on my 'look at getting after Christmas' list, lol. It'd be nice to have both their indoor, and outdoor, so you can keep a baseline for both.

[@servant74]

Glad to help. ClearView cyclones were featured on some woodworking shows a few years ago, and AirGradient was their recommendation. Small air particles are super dangerous for prolonged exposure over the long term. The guy that designed the ClearView had emphasema and developed it so he could continue his hobby, without it the Drs told him he would have to quit.

[@RyanWeathers3D]

Does the meter detect ultrafine particles less than 0.1 μm (100 nm)?

[@gilb6982]

Now before you made these test you should have made the same outside , and while making your diner in the kitchen ! just to have a real reference I think that an air exchange system would be good enought for the size of your shop but i dont have 26 printer !

[@MattWeber]

Let alone ven a 10 minute drive down the road. The foams, glues and plastics in a car you are exposed to the moment you get in, make many industrially "high" levels look like a safe space.

[@creativecraving]

I wonder if you could find a local HVAC that's willing to present his ideas on camera. I bet we'd learn a lot that way.

[@TTC1940]

Sam, when are you going to release the commarker jigs?

[@clydedecker765]

doubling or tripling??? Sounds like a new build project coming. I miss Angela. You;re OK Sam but ... BTW, what did Shop Nation do?

[@NGinuity]

I know you mentioned exclusively PLA but most of my printing is PETG, which I was also under the impression was largely safe. I know ABS and ASA/etc are pretty bad. Got any data on the contrary for PETG? I have a single X1 carbon which does a pretty good job keeping the smell down but at the end of the day, it's a concern because I print in my office.

[@MattWeber]

PETG is basically 0 risk in scientific tests. It is considered THE safest to print outside of any specifics that a manufacturer may add for additives that would require testing of that specific filament for comparison. By comparison, PLA is like a .1 result, which again is more due to additives than the virgin material. They just add a lot more stuff to PLA more often to add to its usefulness, while PETG is natively less needing such additives.

[@NGinuity]

@MattWeber great response! Thank you!

[@user-ct7vo5gj2f]

Dear Sam, where did you buy those black shelfs for the printers?

[@Samcraftcom]

These are the Kobalt brand ones from Lowe's. Home Depot sells a similar style I think.

[@FlatlineBob]

Neat info. over kill in my opinion and its nothing to worry about. I understand you don't like the smell. Some are more sensitive to smells than others. Am 4th generation of drywaller/painter (ton of voc and dust) and most smells don't bother me. Great gpa lived to 84, gpa lived to 84, and dad is in his 60s and I'm almost 40. All of us with very little health issues. So I don't take this particulate stuff too seriously. Nature will kill you one way or another.

[@francistaylor1822]

I dont print inside at all, i put them all in a shed outside, even with filters theres still VOCs for a start.

[@mkzenthusiasts]

Make America healthy again That's what Sam's trying to do in his little world I think that's great

[@heffe2001]

There's been a TON of research on this topic, and you'll find 'results' that pretty much advance whatever conclusion they are pushing in those articles sadly. There's also a lot of evidence as to which types of filament are better or worse (ABS is generally accepted as being the WORST for tVOC's and nanoparticles). Just to be clear (as most people aren't aware), VOC's themselves aren't necessarily dangerous.. You generate a massive amount of them doing pretty much anything that generates a smell (cooking, for example). I keep a couple Ikea air sensors (a Vindstryka in my office with the printers, and a Vindriktning out in the other room where the lasers are), and have both connected to my Home Assistant machine so I can see the data easier (the Vindriktning had to be modified with an ESP01 module for that functionality, probably easier to just use the Vindstrykas). Back when I was doing resin printing, I frequently would get headaches before I started the monitoring and found that the tVOC's and PM2.5 levels were crazy high (I got rid of my resin printers, as I appear to have some severe issues with their smells and offgassing, and was frequently very sick from them). Rigth now, when I print with the 4 that I regularly use (Creality K1, Bambu A1 & P1S, and a Sovol SV08), I see small spikes on the tVOC and PM2.5 counts. When I use the laser in the other room, even with a high-powered exhaust, I see MUCH larger spikes. If I'm having to do any sort of worth with paint, urethane or glues, I also see spikes (paint and Urethane can give massive spikes depending on how long I'm working with them, and where). I print mostly PLA these days, but do use ASA, ABS and PETG occasionally, and I see large spikes with those (in that order, from largest to smallest amounts, but all more than PLA). Your best bet would be air exhaust like you do from the lasers if you want to get rid of the nanoparticles, as a lot of filters won't handle the particle size the printers actually produce (a PM2.5 filter, along with charcoal filters help, but don't eliminate them). With the space as large as you're using, you may also benefit from must circulating the air more to bring the levels down, as I bet they're much more concentrated near the printers (and other devices, lasers, CNC machine, etc). You're also seeing spikes when the printers start due to the fans in them kicking in, spreading any particulate that's settled around them...

[@Samcraftcom]

Wow, thanks for all the details! I'll have to check out those sensors you mentioned.

[@heffe2001]

@Samcraftcom your existing meter is likely more accurate, but if you're running a home assistant instance anyway (and I would in your situation, even if just for the shop buildings), it will keep a close enough log that you'll notice trends pretty quickly. I also plan on picking up at least the indoor sensor that another commentor mentioned soon, as it will likely be more accurate, as well as logs additional information. I'll move the larger Ikea one somewhere else in the house at that point.

[@stevegrimeszz]

Trust me is bad.. I get car sick nauseous if I hangout in my room of printers especially when the massive Neptune 4 max aux fan is running.

[@chuckm3520]

My P1S is in my bedroom. Installed VoxelPLA's bento box filter system linked via Home Assistant to run when printer does. Filter plugged into 3 smart outlet device.

[@MattWeber]

The speed at which those bento boxes become clogged makes them a laughable investment. You basically would need to replace them after a single print with anything that actually would warrant use of a filter like ABS/ASA. Even just common daily dust will make them useless with airflow in a days worth of use.

[@chuckm3520]

I've been running mine for several months printing mostly PLA. Seems to be doing a good job. Not plugging up.

[@MattWeber]

@@chuckm3520 Cuz is PLA and basically nothing to catch.

[@chuckm3520]

Please provide links to support your claims on the bento box.

[@MattWeber]

@@chuckm3520 Look at any actual filter study. Its ALL about surface area and size to last any considerable time. Even Thomas Sanladerer who love s promoting air quality in the 3d printing space, including the bento box, has shown its spent after just 10 hours with an ABS print. He also has many direct studies he has done on his channel showing how little air quality changes with pla/petg especially, vs others.

[@michaelstraughn3465]

you should pull a complete vacuum, then you won't have to worry at all.

[@88RunnerBlade]

Shouldnt really make your decisions based on that air sensor. It's crap. Check reviews on youtube, can't even detect stuff right next to it.

[@markpatterson3189]

I would compare the air quality of your shop to your home air quality and aim for getting your shop air comparable to your home air quality.

[@Samcraftcom]

I think that's a great idea, thanks for sharing. We run air purifiers in our home all the time.

[@anthonyga]

I think humans can smell 1 ppm, not certain what the hazard level is.

[@raytbrown2]

Great videos! Consider NOT speaking of yourself in the 3rd person as its weird.