Filtering or ducting away the ultrafine particles and VOC's which can be created by 3D printers, is something that is not given much thought by most manufacturers. Even today, most consumer 3D printers are not even enclosed, and those that are, do not do a great job of filtering (if they even include a filter). As 3D printers become more common, the science will catch up. But what is already out there, should give anyone with a 3D printer some pause to consider what the long term health consequences could be. And also consider the simple things which may hopefully reduce the risks. I don't know much about the science, and have a limited budget (so a $600-$1000 filtering system is not in the cards), but I think a little of something is better than a lot of nothing. My little of something is currently a ducting system which runs the air from my enclosed printer, through a small HEPA filter, and then out through an unused doggie door. It uses 2.5" flex hose, which is the smallest diameter I'd consider, and a rather powerful blower fan.
For my new Bambu X1C, I've designed a small HEPA filter cover which is slapped on the back of the printer, and held on using a bunch of magnets. I just installed it yesterday and have not tested it, but it looks cool at least. This is going to be a temporary solution for my printer though, since I will eventually add a duct system similar to my current enclosure setup.
The plan for the next iteration will be to run a duct from the outlet on the back of the X1C, with a booster fan (6038 12V) inline, which will vent out a doggie door (through a printed cover). The booster fan will use a 4 wire PWM fan, and I'm planning to design a remote PWM controller, with a potentiometer to control the speed. I think the booster fan will be needed, since there is going to be several feet of hose, and the small fan on the back of the printer won't cut it. I'm also considering a small circular filter in the booster fan housing, since I prefer to filter the air before sending it outside. I'm still waiting on parts to finalize that design, but I was able to use some of the earlier models from my current setup, which helped speed things along a bit. If the fan has enough power, then I think the newer design should be improved over what I'm using now, and more modular as well.
Below are some pics of the inline booster fan (with a filter), and the last pic is the coupler which will connect the hose to the printer. Although they look complete, I need the parts to finalize the models.
For my new Bambu X1C, I've designed a small HEPA filter cover which is slapped on the back of the printer, and held on using a bunch of magnets. I just installed it yesterday and have not tested it, but it looks cool at least. This is going to be a temporary solution for my printer though, since I will eventually add a duct system similar to my current enclosure setup.
The plan for the next iteration will be to run a duct from the outlet on the back of the X1C, with a booster fan (6038 12V) inline, which will vent out a doggie door (through a printed cover). The booster fan will use a 4 wire PWM fan, and I'm planning to design a remote PWM controller, with a potentiometer to control the speed. I think the booster fan will be needed, since there is going to be several feet of hose, and the small fan on the back of the printer won't cut it. I'm also considering a small circular filter in the booster fan housing, since I prefer to filter the air before sending it outside. I'm still waiting on parts to finalize that design, but I was able to use some of the earlier models from my current setup, which helped speed things along a bit. If the fan has enough power, then I think the newer design should be improved over what I'm using now, and more modular as well.
Below are some pics of the inline booster fan (with a filter), and the last pic is the coupler which will connect the hose to the printer. Although they look complete, I need the parts to finalize the models.
Update 9/18/2023: The parts for the booster fan are printed, so I just need to assemble it and then build the PWM controller housing (which will just be a PWM controller and DC input for the 12V the fans require).
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