Safety sheet

Now that you’ve gotten a 3D printer there are a couple of safety tips that you should know about. First and foremost, avoid touching the nozzle well the machine is running. If you need to touch the nozzle (unscrew or tighten it) please use hand protection. For a running printer, the Nozzle will generally be hotter than 200 degrees Celsius, and skin or flesh that touches the nozzle will receive a burn. The most common reason 3Dprinters get burnt by the nozzle because they wanted to clean off some extra filament that was building in and around the nozzle, if this happens make sure to clean with pen or other long thin (nonflammable) object, to safely remove the nozzle and not run the risk of burning yourself.

The next section is going to be about ABS and its effect. ABS is a very strong reliable filament, but it does emit a toxic fume when being melted. It’s best to have an open window or some type of ventilation when printing with ABS, to ensure that you don’t breathe these fumes in. Don’t worry if you’ve already accidental breathed some ABS fumes in, it's only through prolonged exposer that damage will occur. Another major factor to take into consideration when printing with ABS is that the plastic molds you’ve produced won’t be safe for food products even after being cooled down. Please don’t make plates, cups or eating implements with ABS as you might inadvertently poison yourself. As a final with ABS watch for the awful scent that can be smelt during the printing process. To those with strong senses of smell, this might quickly become overbearing.

Protective measures to avoid the long-term effects of breathing in ABS filament one should either be a. wear a surgical mask or b. ensure there is ventilation in the printing area.

On the other hand, PLA and PETG are safe for food products to be eating with and don’t emit toxic fumes. For any prints that are going to be near children, PLA and PETG should be used. 

As with all machines with moving parts loose clothing and hair should be avoided, as if any loose cloth or hair fell into the machine it could rip and tear causing damage to you, your clothing, or your machine. When 3D printing it’s best to leave a good amount of space between you and the printer unless it’s turned off so it can be safely fixed.