If you love resin 3D printing or if it is your profession, then you need to consider having a clean and safe workspace. As resin fumes are not good for your health.
One of the ways to achieve this is Air Purifiers.
You may ask question to yourself, do I need air purifier for resin printing studio?
The answer needs to be YES, as it is directly related to your Health.
Here in this article, I’ve covered the importance of air purifiers in resin printing studios, the type of air purifier best for resin 3D printing, and also other ways to consider having a clean and safe working space.
Do I Need Air Purifier for Resin Printing?
Yes, Air Purifier is a must-have device in your resin printing studio to have a clear and safe environment for working.
Resins produce Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that are harmful to our health. Air Purifiers help to remove these VOCs from the air.
In Resin 3D printing, resins are used as a primary ingredient in creating the fine arts.
Resins produce harmful gases such as volatile organic compounds in the air, while printing. This contaminated air is dangerous to our health when inhaled in smaller amounts.
To remove this odor from the air, experts recommend having proper ventilation in your studio.
One of the ways is by installing air purifiers that are capable of removing these harmful odors from the air.
What are Air Purifiers?
Air Purifiers are the devices that remove contaminants from the air to improve indoor air quality. It provides clean and healthy air for breathing.
Air purifiers come with filters that are involved in removing airborne particles, and odors from the air.
There are different types of air purifiers in the market.
If you are considering air purifiers for a resin 3d printing studio, you need to consider air purifiers with HEPA and activated carbon filters.
HEPA filters are designed to remove particles of size down to 0.3 microns with 99.97% efficiency, whereas activated carbon filters are used to remove odors and gases from the air.
Benefits of Having an Air Purifier for Resin Printing:
You’ll find many benefits in using an air purifier in your resin printing studio.
Moreover, it is a recommendation from the experts to have an air purifier for proper ventilation.
Here are a few benefits of having an air purifier in a 3d printing workspace:
Provides Clean and Safe Workplace:
In the resin printing studio, as volatile organic compounds are released while creating highly detailed resin prints, you will find difficulty in getting clean air to breathe.
This makes it difficult for you to find a safe workspace for working.
Over time, VOC concentration increases in the air and it affects your respiratory system.
To remove VOCs from the air, you need to ventilate your printing studio.
For this, you cannot ventilate by opening the windows as this can damage your resin print due to uneven drying.
That being said, you can use an air purifier to clean your workspace from VOCs.
Air purifiers with activated carbon filters are capable of removing VOCs from the air making a clean and safe environment in the printing studio.
Remove Fine Particles from the Air:
Indoor air also has particles that are microns in size and these are not visible to the naked eye.
These particles can settle on the resin print and contaminate the highly detailed resin print.
You can avoid contaminating resin prints by installing an air purifier in your workspace.
The air purifier comes with a HEPA filter that can remove particles from the air of size down to 0.3 microns with 99.97% efficiency.
Reduces the Maintenance Costs:
Air purifiers also help you reduce the maintenance costs of resin printers.
Dust and debris can accumulate in the resin printers and affect their performance and lifespan.
Air purifiers help in collecting the dust and avoid settling on the resin printers.
Eventually, it reduces the maintenance costs and also improves the performance of your resin printers.
Improves the Quality of your Print:
If you are working on a highly detailed print, airborne particles can settle and can defect the print.
It is not only for high-precision prints, it can defect other prints as well.
Air purifiers can remove these airborne particles from the air, by capturing and helping in improving the quality of your 3d print.
Which Air Purifier is Helpful in Resin Printing?
Now, we are clear that air purifiers are helpful by providing a clean and healthy environment in the resin printing workspace.
But the question that comes to our mind is what factors we need to look for while getting an air purifier for the resin 3d printing studio.
We recommend you consider air purifiers that have HEPA filters and activated carbon filters. These are important filters that help in filtering the air effectively.
HEPA Filter:
It is a High-Efficiency Particulate Air Filter. These filters are capable of removing particles of size up to 0.3 microns from the air.
These particles can include dust, allergens, pollens, and other airborne particles.
This filter has an efficiency of about 99.97%.
Activated Carbon Filter:
Activated Carbon Filter is capable of removing odors, smoke, and volatile organic compounds from the air.
This filter helps you in removing VOCs that are released from the resins.
How do you Ventilate When Working with Resin?
Resins are used as basic components in resin printing. Resins are a chemical compound that contains VOCs, monomers, and other substances.
These are released when used in resin printing.
As we know VOCs are unpleasant and toxic odors that are harmful to our health. You need to ensure that you should have less or zero exposure to these odors.
To remove this odor from the resin printing workspace, you need to ventilate the working space.
To ventilate you can use an exhaust fan or an air purifier and also you can keep a dedicated place with a hood for this activity.
Exhaust Fan:
An exhaust fan helps to push out the fumes or odors from the workspace.
Air Purifier:
While air purifier helps to trap these fumes or odors from the air and provides you with clean and healthy air for breathing.
You can also go with the resins that are odorless or have less odor. These resins release less odor and you can handle them easily with an air purifier.
Other Methods to Protect Yourself from the Fumes of Resin:
You can also consider other methods to protect yourself from the resin fumes. I’ve covered a few methods in the below section.
Using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):
You can use a PPE kit in your workspace that helps to protect you from inhaling the unpleasant fumes that are released from the resins.
As it covers your body completely having zero exposure to these fumes.
It also prevents fumes from getting exposed to your skin.
Wash your Hands Regularly:
It is recommended to wash your hands regularly after every use.
You need to wash it with soap. This helps to remove the traces of fumes if any on your hands.
If you touch your face, eyes, or mouth without washing it with soap and water, this can irritate you.
Clean the spillage:
If resin gets spilled or splashed then you need to clean it immediately.
You can clean it with a paper towel and dispose of it in a sealed bag.
This helps in preventing the release of fumes from the resins.
The above-mentioned methods require your involvement in protecting the workspace.
Conclusion:
Resin Printing is a rewarding and fun activity for enthusiasts and professionals. But the fumes and odors released from the resins are unpleasant and harmful to our health.
To remove these fumes and odors you need to improve ventilation in your workspace. One of the methods to remove these fumes is having an air purifier.
Air purifiers for resin printing workspace can help you in creating a safe and clean environment.
Hope you find this article helpful and that this clears your mind about having an air purifier in your resin printing studio.
