In-Depth Lab Report: Design and Evaluation of Low Cost, Custom, Retrofitted Engineering Controls for 3D Printing

Details

• Personal Author:
  Barnes, Christopher ; Hammond, Duane R. ; Kent, Landen ; O'Connor, Colleen
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Description:
  Background: Multiple studies show that workers are being exposed to emissions from three dimensional (3D) printing processes and suffering adverse health effects from the exposures. Prior to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) research in this area, engineering controls that are designed to capture and filter out emissions from 3D printing processes and reduce worker exposures during 3D printing were not commonly available or they often cost more than the 3D printers themselves. In 2020, a NIOSH publication showed how a low-cost engineering control could be added to existing 3D printers to significantly reduce emissions to the work environment for a specific 3D printer model [Dunn et al. 2020]. The current laboratory study demonstrates that it is possible to develop effective low-cost engineering controls that can be added to other 3D printer models. Methods: NIOSH researchers used SolidWorks solid modeling computer-aided design software to design low-cost custom retrofit engineering controls for two common models of desktop 3D printers. Several components of the engineering controls were fabricated using a 3D printer and combined with an off-the-shelf fan, filter, and hose to build each control for less than $60. NIOSH researchers evaluated the effectiveness of each engineering control using an environmental test chamber to compare ultrafine particle emissions, with and without the engineering controls in place, while 3D-printing a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) test artifact from black acrylonitrile butadiene styrene filament. Results: Average ultrafine particle concentrations measured in the outlet of the environmental test chamber while 3D Printer A was operating with and without the engineering control in place were 2 particles/cm3 and 2,025 particles/cm3, respectively. For 3D Printer B, average particle concentrations measured in the outlet of the environmental test chamber with and without the engineering control were 769 particles/cm3 and 11,648 particles/cm3, respectively. Based on these findings it can be concluded with 95% confidence that the efficiency of the local exhaust ventilation designs were greater than 99.72% and greater than 91.76% for 3D Printer A and 3D Printer B, respectively, as tested in the laboratory. Conclusions and Recommendations: This study showed that different designs of low-cost local exhaust ventilation controls could be added to existing 3D printers to significantly reduce emissions to the work environment. However, these results were in a controlled test environment and limited to only two 3D printers. Follow on studies should be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the controls in work environments. Studies should consider factors such as the location of the 3D printer, existing room ventilation, room size, workflow, printer model variation, etc.
• Subjects:
  Engineering Occupational Health Printing Printing, Three-Dimensional Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  3D Printing Cost Effectiveness Emission Sources Engineering Control Engineering Controls Exhaust Ventilation Industrial Design Local Exhaust Ventilation OSHA Region 5 Printer-emitted Particles Printers Respirable Dust Three Dimensional Printing

  More +
• Series:
  Engineering and Physical Hazards Survey Reports
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHEPHB2022DFSE959
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering ; EPHB - Engineering and Physical Hazards Branch
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-21
• Contributor:
  O'Connor, Mary
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064822
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2022-100410
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, EPHB Report No. 2022-DFSE-959, 2022 Mar ; :1-21
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  323111 - Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books) - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1315c64e5c8ead5413d512e542d255e0c0ecf1b3d2e139a5facbb915785837bf3919150583d92a3d12c52fee37fcaa45f600dd6e0b21ba03599fbd5d527e7c2c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/174851/cdc_174851_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.53 MB ]