Design and Evaluation of Four Low-Cost Engineering Controls for Reducing Particle Emissions from 3D Printing

Details

• Journal Article:
  Atmospheric Environment: X
• Personal Author:
  O'Connor, Colleen ; Barnes, Christopher ; Dunn, Kevin L. ; Hammond, Duane R.
• Description:
  Multiple studies indicate that workers are being exposed to emissions from material extrusion three-dimensional (3D) printing processes and suffering adverse health effects from the exposures. To mitigate these exposures, we developed and evaluated four low-cost engineering controls to capture particle emissions during 3D printing processes. Two controls (Controls A and B) were custom developed using 3D printed parts and retrofitted onto the extruder of two open-frame desktop fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printers (Printers 1 and 2) to capture emissions near the source. A third control (Control C) used a commercially available, printer-specific enclosure that partially encapsulated Printer 2, while a fourth control (Control D) was built using acrylic panels to fully enclose Printer 2. Particle emissions from each control were exhausted through NIOSH-designed air filtration units consisting of a high-efficiency filter, blower fan, and 3D printed housing/components. Control effectiveness was evaluated in an emissions test chamber by comparing average particle concentrations at the chamber outlet while 3D-printing a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) test artifact with black acrylonitrile butadiene styrene filament, with and without the controls in operation. Minimum capture efficiencies were 99.7% for Control A, 91.6% for Control B, 28.6% for Control C, and 99.8% for Control D. Internal cooling fans in Printer 2 allowed particle emissions to bypass Control C, limiting its effectiveness. Overall, capturing emissions at the source (Controls A and B) and fully enclosing the printer (Control D) were highly effective and demonstrated that low-cost engineering controls can mitigate particle emissions from 3D printing processes.
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Particulate Matter Printing, Three-Dimensional Safety
• Keywords:
  Three dimensional printing; 3D printing; Printer-emitted particles; Engineering controls; Control methods; Control systems; Particulates
• Source:
  Atmos Environ X 2026 Apr; 30:100432
• ISSN:
  2590-1621
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; Chicago Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  11 pdf pages
• Volume:
  30
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071380
• Contact Point Address:
  Christopher Barnes, Division of Field Studies and Engineering, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, OH, 45226, USA
• Email:
  tgo0@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ceb4b42d6bb90252e4c5285db38263a618ee587b697b3fd24af8fb287520c8c522b2d701bd0f41324480322c0dfff4485452804cf6c77e850f19405a6ea1e92e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/258855/cdc_258855_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 10.33 MB ]