Printing with ABS

I'm sure this question has been asked 1000 times already but I couldn't find the topic.
I recently built an Original Prusa i3 and have been printing with the PLA that came with it. So far so good. I am quite impressed with its performance. I ordered an ABS sample pack and am ready to try ABS. I read about the fumes and smell produced with ABS and it requires a well ventilated area. I currently have the printer set up in a spare guest bedroom in our home which measures ~180 ft^2. I can open a window if necessary.

The questions:
Exactly how bad is printing with ABS?
Is it enough to smell up the whole house?
Will the odor and toxins permeate into the carpet, bedspread and mattress in this room?
Will it adversely affect anyone sleeping in this room at a later date? I would hate to make my aging mother-in-law ill from this.

Any shared experience and advice on this would be appreciated. The last thing I need is to get the wife ruffled or poison someone down the road.

Follow up question: What settings should I use on my first ABS attempt?

Thank You

Quote
3D2112

The questions:
Exactly how bad is printing with ABS?
- Not that bad, the fumes are really very minimal. Some reports state it emits a few carcinogens, but if these are at lethal levels is unknown. A single printer in a large room will have no problems, but if you are concerned then consider extra ventilation in the room.

Is it enough to smell up the whole house?
- Nope

Will the odor and toxins permeate into the carpet, bedspread and mattress in this room?
- Highly doubtful and can't say I've noticed it myself, but then smokers can't smell how stinky there furniture is, so maybe I'm used to it.

Will it adversely affect anyone sleeping in this room at a later date? I would hate to make my aging mother-in-law ill from this.
- Nope, fumes will quickly leave the room with a window open and should not linger.

Follow up question: What settings should I use on my first ABS attempt?
- Depends on the ABS, extra additives to the filament inclduing colour pigments can affect print settings. Printing temps range from 200-260c, with a bed temp between 80-120c. Start with the manufacturers quidelines and work from there really
Thank You

If you're very interested in printing ABS, then consider an enclosed 3D printer, especially with a heated chamber. This also has the added effect of containing any fumes.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll give it a go and see how bad it is.

I'm actually in the process of building an enclosure. That's one reason I'm exploring ABS, to build the parts

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/17/2016 01:21PM by 3D2112.

I think as someone who started out printing ABS and only used PLA later, which is the other way around from most people, I find PLA the odd material rather than ABS.

Yes there is a smell, and yes some of the known ingredients in ABS filament are not good for your health, and some ingredients are unknown. But there is quite a lack of serious studies which demonstrate how bad it is, specifically as it is produced by an FDM 3d printer. The smell is not very pervasive, if you have a window open in the room you are printing in, the smell will clear quite quickly.

I think the actual amounts of both volatile compounds like styrene and ultrafine particles given off are relatively small and I think since most begin with "eco-friendly" PLA and only move over to ABS when they realise PLA parts are often too brittle to make good machine parts with, there is a tendency to see ABS as bad in all senses. Yes it is less environmentally friendly on all fronts when compared with PLA, but I do not think it will prove to be a serious threat to your health unless you print all day every day in the poorly ventilated room where you are also located.

Some strategies:
-ventilate the room, and avoid being close up to the printer for long periods, watch it on a camera.
-buy an air cleaning unit (hepa/charcoal) for the room.
-build/buy an air cleaning unit as above but for the printer
-enclose your printer to keep the fumes in one place - do not leave the door open for long periods
-vent the enclosure from your printer to the exterior

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Simon Khoury

Co-founder of [www.precisionpiezo.co.uk] Accurate, repeatable, versatile Z-Probes
Published:Inventions

I recently came across these unit designed for use in cars [www.ebay.co.uk]

I might buy one and see how well it cleans the air inside a printer enclosure, its 12v so that's handy.

Sorry missed the bit about settings. If you mean temperature I'd say try to get the surface of the bed to 110 degC, so you might have to set it higher to get the surface this hot. I check mine with an IR thermometer. Put insulation under the bed, and cover it with insulation during heat-up it will heat up twice as fast. Print the ABS (depending on the filament) at between 220-260 deg C. I find you get much better layer bonding with higher temperatures. I often print ABS at 255. Use hairspray/abs juice if using glass/aluminium beds. Printbite works well as long as you get it genuinely hot enough on the surface. Avoid part cooling fans especially for the first few layers, and even then you only really need them for bridging and really fine detailed/short layer-time layers.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2016 04:38AM by DjDemonD.

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Simon Khoury

Co-founder of [www.precisionpiezo.co.uk] Accurate, repeatable, versatile Z-Probes
Published:Inventions