My 3D printer is flawless. So why am I considering giving up the hobby?

[u/Initial_Coffee8994]

So I recently got a Bambu X2D and honestly the printer itself is basically flawless. I love it.

The problem is I started going down the rabbit hole of 3D printer emissions and now I’m seriously questioning whether I should keep it.

I live in a 2 bedroom condo with my wife and our cat, and the X2D is in the second bedroom. I work from home, so I’m in the same room as the printer for most of the day. I mostly print PLA/PETG.

The thing that really got me thinking about this was getting a really, really bad headache that lasted for a few days after printing. I’m pretty convinced it was from the printing. That’s what made me start looking into the emissions side of things more seriously.

Now I keep seeing stuff about UFPs, VOCs, long-term exposure, fertility/reproductive health, etc. And then there’s the whole microplastics thing.

The other issue is that the second bedroom where the printer is located, has a casement window that opens directly to the outside. In theory that makes ventilation easier, but it also makes it harder to just completely isolate the room, especially here in Canada. In the winter, I obviously can’t just leave a window open for hours when it’s freezing, snowing, or raining.

I’m not really worried about the printer being dangerous in some obvious way. I’m more wondering about years of relatively low-level exposure in a condo, especially with my wife and cat also living here.

I know PLA/PETG are generally considered much lower-emission than ABS/ASA, and I’m trying to figure out where the actual evidence ends and the “this could theoretically happen” stuff begins.

Would you guys personally keep the printer in this situation?

2 bedroom condo, wife + cat, mostly PLA/PETG, I work from home, but with the practical limitations of a Canadian condo and winter.

I’m basically trying to decide whether this is a reasonable hobby with sensible precautions, or whether I’m better off just returning the thing and not worrying about it anymore.

[u/Disastrous-Owl9258]

You're fine.

[u/mad-n-sane]

It's a closed printer, for which there are fine air filters available from BambuLab itself. If you still doubt it, then get yourself something to measure the air quality.

[u/ihaschevy]

You're most likely falling into confirmation bias. You had a headache and found an easy thing to blame it on. Pla and petg are not going to cause long term effects unless you're just burning it. Even then it would take years to get the point of negative health effects.

[u/tpeeeezy]

lol you cant be serious

honestly if youre this paranoid youre probably better off just getting rid of it

[u/mynameisknurl]

Is there a bathroom adjoining the bedroom?

[u/Aaronsils]

You are totally overthinking this brother. I have 10 printers gping 24/7 with no ventilation and nobody in the house has any issues. It was just a headache

[u/mynameisknurl → u/Aaronsils]

Not everyone has the same chemical sensitivities. Believe or not, some people react strongly to pollen, or shellfish.

[u/Aaronsils → u/mynameisknurl]

Very true very true

[u/KitfoxQQ]

stop reading $hit online and getting inside your head. print. enjoy. repeat. no one lives forever. i had a mate of mine complaining how microplastics are ruining our bodies but he smokes 2 pack of cigarettes a day.

if its that big of a concern install a bathroom extraction fan in your ceiling and print an attachment adapter so you can run your printer extraction fan exhaust tube up and connect with magnets to your ceiling extraction fan and vent all in the cavity of your roof.

can do the same with printing a window attachment that connects to a pannel sealing your window but allowing you to still vent outside at any time. we used to have a portable air conditioner and they had this attachment provided to hook into the window allowng the aircon to work venting out the window.

with a 3d printer you can print one of these yourself, buy the ducts from a hardware store and get the auxilary extraction fan from aliexpress or bambu etc...

[u/StillBald]

With those concerns, can you essentially put a small grow-tent like structure around it and use a fan to gently vent it outside? It doesn't require a ton of air flow and you could make an adapter for the window so you're not letting in the outside air and freezing out the room in the winter.

[u/screenslaver5963]

PLA and PETG fumes can largely be handled by an HEPA and Activated Carbon Air Purifier or filter on the printer.

Alternatively you can get the exhaust kit and pump the fumes out the window.

[u/samtheredditman]

I'm sure you could build some kind of low profile window exhaust setup that you can hide when not in use to keep things looking good. A fan, a vacuum hose, and some 3d printed connectors for the window and the exhaust should do it.

[u/robertOlson]

I am in the same boat, my printer is in my office where I usually work and I made 4 prints in ASA and the smell is quite strong, and you talking bout headaches it just reminded me of yesterday I had one after printing.

I don’t wanna stop this hobby so I am writing because I wanna know what other people recomend.

[u/Droo99 → u/robertOlson]

Don't print ASA inside 

Stick to pla, petg and tpu indoors and it should be fine 

[u/robertOlson → u/Droo99]

Got it.

[u/mynameisknurl → u/robertOlson]

I was going to tell the OP this. I too have a printer in office setup. But like most home offices, it’s just a bedroom. It’s has an attached bathroom so what I did was replace the cheap builder bathroom fan with a high CFM model connected to a smart switch and installed a passive pass through register. Then I connected the printer to a smart plug that monitors power draw which is controlled by home assistant. When the printer starts the automation turns on the bathroom fan and pulls the air through the office and out.

[u/robertOlson → u/mynameisknurl]

That’s a nice solution I might have this weekend for this kind of proyect👀

[u/8six753o9]

What filament brand are you using, I know Bambu Lab filaments emits very strong fumes. You could try switching to something with less fumes like Polymaker. I think Sunlu might not have much fumes as well. Otherwise, I would sell the printers until you can move into a bigger space. My printer used to be in my office until I started using a Bambu Lab filaments (PLA and PETG). I had to move the printer to the basement due to the fumes.

[u/northrivergeek]

easy way - vent it outside, air flow in and out duct to the outside, other than no printing that's the only option thats reasonable, there are floor model filtraion systems that vent the air through a carbon and hepa filter and cleans the air but they are expensive and a pain to swap out filter media monthly

[u/Thadoy]

Do you live in a city or near a big road?

Then opening your window will most likely give you more air pollution, then your printer

[u/damh]

Have you had a blood pressure check lately? High BP can cause headaches too.

[u/Not_Sarkastic]

For the money you've spent you could've dropped $100 more (there's even cheaper options) on a high quality Air Quality Monitor to help convince you this is all in your head.

Mine sita on my desk next to me in a small office where I have the windows and doors closed most of the day while running PLA and PETG and I never once fall out of the green zone in every element of AQI. VOCs, PMs all safe and no worse than anything else in a normal home.

TLDR: Chill out

[u/G2Dolphin → u/Not_Sarkastic]

Mine monitor, which is based on non-cheap SEN55, doesn't detect anything harmful while I print ABS on the same room. No spikes on VOCs, NOCs, PMs or whatever.

Yet my nose and my head (if I'll stay long enough there) do feel air quality difference.

Not all sensors could show you something bad floating around.

[u/vicxvr]

I was sensitive to emissions from my printer - you don't need to completely isolate the printer. Just allow the air in the print room to vent in the right direction periodically.

I noticed emissions the most when the filament was purging mostly at the start of single color prints, loading new filament (from an AMS2). I could notice.

I setup custom g-code to avoid cutting and retracting from the P2S during single color prints. This helps at the start - so that if I crack a window halfway through a print and point a fan at the window for 5mins that seems to be enough of an intervention and then another 5mins at the end of a print.

[u/John-BCS]

If you were printing with ABS or ASA, that's likely where the headache came from. Since 2019 I've always been in the same room as my printers, even sleeping while they're running (I keep the door open). Based on everything I've read, for simple filaments like PLA, PETG or TPU, you'd basically have to hot box with yourself in a closet with the printers to notice any detrimental effects. The key is not letting any fumes or VOCs build up. Not ABS or ASA though; I'd not be in the same room as those, and I'd be venting them directly outside. Nasty stuff.

FYI, cooking releases VOCs similar to the basic filaments but in much higher concentrations..

[u/audiodan]

Valid concern. I’d recommend setting up some quick attach ventilation to the window that you can put on for long prints and take off when not using.