Air Filtration For 3D Printing

The use of 3D Printers has grown 1000 % over the past few years. Many schools, businesses, entrepreneurs, hobbyists and individuals now own a 3D Printer. The majority of the printers used in the schools and homes are the smaller FFF or FDM filament style printers that print with various types of plastic or composites. These printers can print over 30 different materials and their tool head nozzles can reach temperatures at or above 300 degrees celsius ( 580 F ). When melting these materials during the printing operation, small amounts of sub-micron particulate are produced which depending upon the materials used for printing may create some health issues when inhaled by the user. Air filtration for 3D printing is now becoming a major concern.

Pure Air Systems, an Indiana based company, has been making HEPA based air filtration systems since 1985. Their fan powered units range in volume from 50 CFM to 2000 CFM and their systems all use commercial grade HEPA’s, variable speed drive motors, industrial fans and all metal housings.In the past year a number of the PAS Portable units ( 250 CFM ) and the 600HS ( 600 CFM ) units have been used to filter the air from one or more filament style printers to remove the less than 20 micron sized particles from the air. HEPA filters used in the PAS units are certified at 99.99% at 0.3 microns. Much of the particulate generated by the printers is in the 1 to 10 micron range which can be inhaled and trapped in the lungs. Over time this could create some significant lung problems and severe side affects. More studies are being done all the time to determine the cause and affect.

In many cases the Pure Air Systems units are attached to special enclosures that are used to cover the printers and confine the particulate to one area. One of the better 3D Printer Enclosures is made by LiteWorld LLC., http://www.liteworldllc.com . The PAS units are very powerful allowing one of them to be used to filter the air for multiple printers. 

For more information on the complete line of HEPA and Carbon based air filtration systems please go to our website at: https://www.pureairsystems.com     or call us on our toll free number at: 800-869-8025.

 

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Capturing Odors and Particulate From 3D Printers

3D Printers have been on the market now since 2010 and the use of the FDM or FFF style 3D printers that use filaments made from a wide variety of materials are the most commonly used in schools, libraries, small R&D labs, business and homes.

Some of the materials that are used in the printing process such as ABS and Carbon Fiber produce significant odors and in a small room this can be very noticeable and unpleasant. In addition, small, sub-micron particles are released into the air during the printing phase. These particulate are too small to see with the naked eye but can become an irritant to those individuals who have allergies or have some form of respiratory dysfunction.

In order to remedy this issue, should it present itself as a problem, one option is to enclose the 3D Printer to contain the odors and particulate and the second is to connect a filtration system to the enclosure to effectively remove the odors and remove the airborne particulate.

LiteWorld LLC makes a large plexiglass enclosure with aluminum frame and large access doors that will fit over the larger open 3D printers such as the LulzBot TAZ 3D Printers. These enclosures can be purchased directly from LiteWorld by going to their website at: http://www.liteworldllc.com or contacting them by phone at: 941-999-8200.

Pure Air Systems makes the HEPA and Carbon based air filtration systems that can connect to one or multiple enclosures to both remove the odors using the Carbon filters that are included in the systems and remove the particulate by using the commercial grade HEPA filters. These high end systems, coupled with the LiteWorld enclosures will provide an almost clean room environment for your 3D Printer operation.

For more information on the complete line of Carbon and HEPA based air filtration systems please go to our website at: https://www.pureairsystems.com or call us on our toll-free number at: 800-869-8025.

Indy Air Show 09
Indy Air Show 09

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