3D printer in bedroom

Should I Put My 3D Printer in My Bedroom? – 3D Printerly

Anyone using a 3D printer wonders to themselves “where should I put it?” and whether they should put it in their bedroom. It seems like the ideal area because it’s easy to keep watch. There are however some things to keep in mind when thinking about putting it in your bedroom which I will explain in this article.

Should you put a 3D printer in your bedroom? No, it’s not advised to put a 3D printer in your bedroom, unless you have a very good ventilation system with a HEPA filter. Your printer should be in an enclosed chamber, so particles don’t spread out easily.

There are a few important things to keep in mind when deciding where to put your 3D printer. In this article, I’ve pointed out red flags to look out for and other common issues that you should know about.

If you are interested in seeing some of the best tools and accessories for your 3D printers, you can find them easily by clicking here (Amazon).

Factors for Good 3D Printer Placement

The ideal place for where to put your printer is where you’ll get the best quality prints. There are a number of factors that can affect the quality of the final print depending on where your printer is placed:

• Temperature
• Humidity
• Sunlight
• Drafts

Temperature

The average temperature of the room you are printing in can have an effect on the quality of a print. You can find the specs of the required ambient temperature of your printer as many will differ.

If your 3D printer finds itself in a cold environment, the difference in the temperature it needs to adequately print can start to increase warping, and cause prints to become loose on the print bed before it finishes.

Ideally, you want your room temperature high as well as constant. A good way to tackle this would be to have an enclosure around your printer to retain the heat necessary for a good quality print.

If you want to take an extra step, get yourself an enclosure. A great one is the Creality Fireproof Enclosure from Amazon. It’s a great long term purchase if you love 3D printing that should last you years and usually results in better prints.

A good idea to lower how much heating your bed has to do is to use a FYSETC Foam Insulation Mat . It has great thermal conductivity and greatly reduces heat and cooling loss of your heated bed.

 If your printer is in a cold environment, I’ve heard of people using an electric radiator to keep the temperature high which should work out. The room temperature, if not at an ideal level and fluctuates a lot, can negatively affect the quality of a print and even make some fail.

Humidity

Is your bedroom humid? 3D printing doesn’t tend to work very well in high humidity. When we sleep we let off quite a lot of heat which can increase the humidity of your bedroom and can ruin your filament when it soaks up the moisture in the air.

A high level of humidity in a room where your printer is printing can leave filaments brittle and easily breakable. Now there is a big difference between which filaments will be affected by humidity.

I wrote an article exactly about Why PLA Gets Brittle & Snaps which has good information and prevention methods.

PLA and ABS don’t absorb moisture too quickly but PVA, nylon and PETG will. In order to combat the levels of humidity, a dehumidifier is a great solution as it’s ideal to have as low humidity as possible for your filaments.

A good choice is the Pro Breeze Dehumidifier which is cheap, effective for a small room and has great reviews on Amazon.

For the most part, proper filament storage will fight the effects of humidity but once a filament is saturated from humidity, a proper filament-drying procedure is necessary to ensure high quality printing.

You want a good storage container, with silica gel beads to ensure your filament stays dry and isn’t affected by humidity. Go with the IRIS Weathertight Storage Box (Clear) and WiseDry 5lbs Reusable Silica Gel Beads.

To measure your humidity levels inside the storage container you should use a hygrometer. You can use something like the ANTONKI Humidity Gauge (2-Pack) Indoor Thermometer from Amazon.

This is how people used to do it, but there are more efficient methods now, like using the eSUN Filament Vacuum Storage Kit with 10 Vacuum Bags from Amazon. It has reusable humidity indicators and a hand-pump to produce a vacuum sealed effect to reduce moisture.

If your filament already has absorbed moisture you can use a professional filament dryer to solve your issues from here on out.

I’d recommend getting the SUNLU Dry Box Filament Dehydrator from Amazon today. These started making an appearance and got people getting them really quickly because of how well they work.

You wouldn’t believe how many people are printing at lower quality because their filament has so much moisture built up, especially if you live in a humid environment.

Sunlight

Sunlight can give the opposite effect from humidity, essentially over-drying out filaments and again, causing a low quality final print.

 It can have the effect of making your end product brittle and easily breakable. Make sure the area where your printer is doesn’t have direct sunlight shining on it.

There are some 3D printers that have UV protection to combat against this like the ELEGOO Mars UV 3D Printer. It uses UV photocuring so it’s a necessary protection, but standard 3D printers like the Ender 3 won’t have this.

Drafts

When you have your printer in a bedroom, there can be issues with opening a window in relation to the quality of your prints. Draft from an open window can be a killer for your print quality so ensure your ventilation doesn’t create too much physical disturbance.

There can also be quite a lot of movement going on in a bedroom so you want to make sure your printer is safe during printing and storage to not get bumped in to.

So in brief, you want a room temperature which is fairly constant and not cold, a low level of humidity, out of direct sunlight and with minimal physical movement such as drafts and vibrations from movement.

Getting an enclosure is a great solution to prevent those drafts from affecting your 3D prints. A very popular enclosure that has increased the success rate of many 3D printer hobbyists is the Creality Fireproof & Dustproof Printer Enclosure from Amazon.

Common Complaints About 3D Printers in Bedrooms

There are things that people have in common when having their printer in the bedroom. One of these is the smell and fumes that the filaments give off while high temperatures are used.

PLA generally has a mild smell, depending on how sensitive your sense of smell is, but ABS can be a bit harsher and people do complain about feeling nauseous around it.

Some people will be more sensitive to fumes and respiratory problems than others so you have to take into account the health issues that can arise, especially over many hours in a day.

If you have asthma, the quality of air will be affected when 3D printing if you don’t have adequate ventilation systems put into place so this is something to keep in mind.

To the light sleepers out there, 3D printers do tend to make noise while in action so it may not be a viable option for you. 3D printers can be noisy and cause surfaces to vibrate, so having one printing in your bedroom while you try to sleep can cause issues.

Check out my popular post on How to Reduce Noise on Your 3D Printer.

Using an enclosure should minimize the sound your printer makes, as well as some kind of vibration absorbing pad underneath the printer.

The fan and the motors are the main culprits for the noise made by printers and printers do differ in just how much noise they make. There are many ways to reduce the noise made so it’s not the biggest factor, but does still matter.

Safety Issues with Where to Put your 3D Printer

Surroundings

3D printers get really hot so you wouldn’t want objects that hang over it. Things that are hung up such as paintings, clothing, curtains and pictures can be damaged by the heat of a 3D printer.

So, you want to make sure there aren’t things that can be damaged, which can be difficult especially in a small bedroom.

Another thing to take into account is whether you have a 3D printer kit or a manufactured 3D printer. These are two very different things in regard to fire safety.

When you buy a 3D printer kit, the manufacturer is technically yourself, so the packer of the kit wouldn’t be responsible to ensure the fire or electrical certification of the end product.

As 3D printers develop, the safety features improve so there is a much lower chance of fire risks. This doesn’t mean it’s impossible so having a smoke alarm is a good solution, but isn’t a preventative measure.

Make sure your 3D printer has the latest firmware as it is one of the main things that put safeguards in place.

Possible Fumes & Dangerous Chemicals?

PLA has been considered one of the safest filaments to print with, but since it’s a relatively new material the information on long-term health effects are lacking.

Even though PLA is known for it’s safety and lack of dangerous fumes, it still gives off particles which can still cause health issues.

Some people do complain of respiratory irritation and other related issues when printing with PLA. Even though the fumes aren’t considered dangerous, it doesn’t mean you’ll be able to easily tolerate them while you relax in your bedroom or sleep.

It’s advised, if printing with PLA, to try and use the lower temperature limit of around 200°C to minimize the fumes it gives off.

You probably don’t want to be printing with ABS if you put your printer in the bedroom due to the well-known harsh fumes it can release.

PLA is biodegradable and made from renewable starches, whereas many other filaments are made from less safe material such as ethylene, glycol and oil-based materials and usually require higher temperatures to print.

We deal with harmful fumes on a daily basis, but the difference is, we aren’t subjected to them for longer than a few minutes or in other cases a few hours.

In many cases, simply being in an urban city will expose you to similar harmful particles, but you definitely don’t want to be inhaling that in an enclosed room.

With a 3D printer, you could be running it all day and night resulting in polluted air. It is recommended to not have your printer running while you occupy the room.

This is why putting your printer in a bedroom is not a very good place when taking this into account.

One of the best and most popular filters is the LEVOIT LV-h232 Purifier with HEPA Filter.

You can check out my article about the 7 Best Air Purifiers for 3D Printers.

It’s very effective in removing harmful pollutants in the air due to its advanced 3-Stage Filtration System – pre-filter, HEPA filter & high-efficiency activated carbon filter.

This purifier does an amazing job and removes 99.97% of airborne contaminants as small as 0.3 microns.

It would be ideal to have a printer with an enclosure, as well as with some type of fan or vent to remove harmful fumes. Simply opening a window while your 3D printer prints won’t necessarily direct the particles in the air away.

Your best bet is using a ventilated enclosure, as well as a high-quality filter. In addition to this, have some kind of vent/window to recirculate fresh air into the space.

Flammable Safety Issue

Bedrooms are prone to have flammable materials and may not have the best ventilation, which are both red flags for where to put your 3D printers.

Now, if a 3D printer is in your bedroom, you are much more likely to catch any electrical or fire issues that occur, but this benefit also comes at a cost where it could cause harm.

Should I Put My 3D Printer on the Floor?

For the most part, if you have a solid floor, it’s going to be a flat surface which is exactly what you want for a 3D printer. Having your 3D printer on the floor, however, does increase certain risks such as accidentally stepping or knocking over your printer.

You’ll also get a lot more dust affecting your printer, filament and bed surface which can decrease print quality and bed adhesion. Rather than put your 3D printer on the floor, you should at least get a small table like an IKEA Lack table, which is popular in the 3D printing community.

The Ender 3 is around 450mm x 400mm in width and length so you need a table a little bigger to house a medium-sized 3D printer.

A pretty good table that you can get yourself on Amazon is the Ameriwood Home Parsons Modern End Table. It’s highly rated, sturdy and looks good in a home or apartment setting.

Can You Use a Resin 3D Printer Inside an Apartment or Bedroom?

You can use a resin 3D printer inside an apartment or bedroom, but you want to use low-odor resins that have low VOCs and are known to be safe. Many people recommend not to use a resin 3D printer in living spaces, but rather in places that aren’t occupied. You can build a ventilation system to reduce fumes.

Many people do 3D print with resin indoors in their bedroom without issues, though some people have reported that they get respiratory problems or allergies as a result.

One user mentioned how he thought he had the flu for a few months, but was actually being affected by being next to an active resin printer.

Resins should have an MSDS or Material Safety Data Sheet which provides reliable information about the safety of your resin. Generally speaking, resin fumes aren’t considered hazardous and are fairly low-risk if you have the right ones.

The biggest safety risk for resins is getting uncured resin on your skin because they can easily be absorbed and cause skin irritation, or even hypersensitivity after long-term use.

Related Questions

Where is the best place to put a 3D printer? The usual places people put a 3D printer are in a workshop, garage, home office, wash-room, or basement. You’d just need about four square feet of space and a shelf.

It’s not recommended to keep a 3D printer in your bedroom, bathroom, living room/family room or kitchen.

Should I only print with PLA? PLA, for the most part, can do almost everything that you require for 3D printing and is the recognized as the safer option in the 3D printing community.

Only in specific cases will PLA not be feasible for prints so I’d recommend only printing with PLA until you have enough experience.

If you love great quality 3D prints, you’ll love the AMX3d Pro Grade 3D Printer Tool Kit from Amazon. It is a staple set of 3D printing tools that gives you everything you need to remove, clean & finish your 3D prints.

It gives you the ability to:

• Easily clean your 3D prints – 25-piece kit with 13 knife blades and 3 handles, long tweezers, needle nose pliers, and glue stick.
• Simply remove 3D prints – stop damaging your 3D prints by using one of the 3 specialized removal tools.
• Perfectly finish your 3D prints – the 3-piece, 6-tool precision scraper/pick/knife blade combo can get into small crevices to get a great finish.
• Become a 3D printing pro!

Serious safety concerns with living in same room as PLA 3D Printer?

Asked 4 years, 7 months ago

Modified 1 year, 2 months ago

Viewed 68k times

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I have an Ender 3 which I primarily use for printing with PLA. I haven't branched out to other materials yet. :)

I've done some research into PLA fumes and airborne particulates which seemed to mention that PLA is mostly safe, but ABS is rather dangerous to print without proper ventilation. However, I understand that there isn't much research on the topic and that there haven't been many studies.

I have been keeping my printer in my bedroom, far isolated from flammable materials, which I sometimes leave on to print while I'm asleep. Should I be concerned with my health safety with respect to airborne particulates emitted by printing with PLA?

Other questions ask about ABS, but here, I'm asking specifically about PLA.

• pla
• safety
• health

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Fire is the most obvious risk - firmware can now detect some of the more obvious failure modes such as a detached thermistor, but loose or failing connections can still overheat. A smoke alarm is a fairly obvious (but not necessarily effective) protective measure.

The risk from particulates in particular is probably low, but marginal health risks like this are extremely hard to analyse, and will likely take many years to manifest. The closest analogue would be to look at commercial plastics workers since they are exposed to both heated plastic, and any potential dust generated.

You could also compare the risk to other 'hobby' activities such as soldering, painting, woodworking.

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You are probably pretty safe printing PLA

1. Regarding emissions, the following recent report, Emissions of Ultrafine Particles and Volatile Organic Compounds from Commercially Available Desktop Three-Dimensional Printers with Multiple Filaments, indicates that PLA is a pretty low emitter (1/20th of nylon) and most of what it out-gasses is Lactide which is low on the harm scale. That said, everybody's nose sees things a bit different and people tolerate smells differently. Note also that we used to think lots of things (like asbestos) were harmless that we know differently now. Note also in the figure below from the report that all PLAs are not created equal. Dremel PLA produce way more nasty stuff than FlashForge PLA did. I am also sure additives, colorant, and fillers can change this a lot as PLA filaments aren't not all PLA.

2. Regarding the fire safety issue. Note that there is a BIG difference between a kit and a "product". Since you are the manufacturer of the printer for a "kit", the packager of the "kit" is not responsible for the fire or electrical certifications of the final product. This does open the door to some risks. The biggest risks are electrical safety; but, fire safety can be an issue as well. I would say that the risk is likely higher to you personally when the printer is NOT in your bedroom as if it catches fire when you are sleeping, you will likely catch the fire faster if it is in your bedroom.

3. From a practical standpoint, I have heard several people complain that they can't sleep when the printer is printing when the printer is in a separate room.

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I have been printing daily for 2 months with PLA and have noticed respiratory problems! I feel like slight pneumonia symptoms! I also have very sensitive lungs that react to things that would not bother normal people.

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Having asthma, I'm very sensitive to air quality and when i first started 3D printing i quickly noticed a sore throat, feeling out of breath, headaches and well the smell.

One thing many beginners overlook is material oozing out of the extruder in places other than the nozzle itself. This causes a dirty extruder head which 'burns' that material and thus creating a ton of air pollution and a nasty smell. As a fix, i took my extruder head apart and reassembled it with PTFE tape on all the threads. The oozing and burned smell of material is now completely gone, my initial health issues have also gone away.

This does not take away the fact that ultrafine particles are still being generated, but you will not notice this problem in an acute way. If you print daily use a fume extractor, your lungs cannot clean out this size of particles. The health effects will be similar as living near a busy street or highway.

One last thing few people mention: cleaning up parts. When you file or sand down parts this creates a lot of very fine dust, and since plastics are electrostatic this becomes very hard to clean up. I now use an extraction fan whenever I'm cleaning up a printed part.

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Standard manufacturing practices contraindicate leaving a manufacturing device unmonitored while it's on. That being said, your workshop should be well ventilated anyways since you're probably using acetone, isopropyl alcohol, and other substances that you shouldn't inhale.

If you can not move to a well ventilated workshop, consider installing a fume hood or at least a range hood in your current workshop

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$250 room-sized 3D printer / Habr

Why not make a 3D printer out of a garage or an empty room? An open source project from Sweden makes this possible for $250. Who is less?

Article by Glenn McDonald from Seeker.com translated for you by Top 3D Shop .

Swedish inventor Thorbjørn Ludwigsen has spent the last three years developing a new kind of large-format 3D printer that can create large objects. His invention can print furniture right in the room - it's very easy and relatively cheap. Ludwigsen's invention, the "Hangprinter", uses a system of wall, floor, and ceiling-mounted cables and computer-controlled drives on a print head unit. The device uses the room itself as a 3D printer case.

Hangprinter is not the first large format 3D printing system, but it is unique. First, it's cheap. All hardware and firmware components can be purchased for approximately $250. In addition, it is an open project, which means that any user can improve the system and use third-party updates. Finally, Hangprinter is self-sufficient - most of the components necessary for its creation can be printed by it.

It all adds up to a system that Ludwigsen hopes will open up the potential of 3D printing to more people. The developer believes that 3D printing should not be an expensive perk. In his opinion, Hangprinter is not only a technical, but also a social experiment.

“In particular, I want 3D printing to avoid the fate of 2D printing, where machines are programmed to self-destruct after a certain number of objects are made. The best chance to do this is not only to use open source, but also to create self-replicating hardware. Hangprinter manufactures most of the necessary elements for itself.”
- he said.

The Hangprinter project is part of a larger initiative in the 3D printing community known as RepRap. All developers try to optimize prototyping processes as much as possible. The idea is to spread 3D printing technology to low- and middle-income people through open design solutions and self-replicating mechanisms.

“Open technology can empower middle- and low-income families, and I grew up in one of those families,” said Ludwigsen.

The innovator is taking this project very seriously. As a physics student at Umeå University in Sweden, he recently completed his master's thesis on the subject.

In the Hangprinter video, Ludwigsen showed how a 3D printer creates a relatively simple and functional object - a lampshade.

The Hangmaker has also been involved in more artistic projects - Ludwigsen recently used the system to assemble a five-foot sculpture of the Tower of Babel.

Hangmaker prints the Tower of Babel sculpture. Author: Thorbjorn Ludwigsen.

As the device is optimized, Ludwigsen hopes the Hangprinter will become versatile enough to print furniture, tools and possibly fully functional machines with moving parts. He also hopes to raise money through crowdfunding to continue research and development in this direction.

Although the current version of Hangprinter is fully functional, there are many upgrades ahead of the device, according to its author. In fact, improvements are another reason why the author decided to develop the project as open-source.

“It's a flexible manufacturing technique, so it will be useful in situations I can't foresee. Some of them can be very important/cool/useful. I would not want to interfere with important and useful discoveries.0010 ,
- he said.