On top of the purchase price, I’m guessing that having something like this running in your home fab will require more safety equipment than a uv shroud and an air mover to keep things safe/non-deadly.
This was also one of my concerns with the hype surrounding low cost SLS printers like Micronics, especially if they weren’t super well designed. The powder is incredibly dangerous to inhale so I wouldn’t want a home hobbyist buying that type of machine without realizing how harmful it could be. My understanding is even commercial SLS machines like HP’s MJF and FormLab’s Fuse need substantial ventilation (HEPA filters, full room ventilation, etc.) in order to be operated safely.
Metal is of course even worse. It has all the same respiratory hazards (the fine particles will likely cause all sorts of long-term lung damage) but it also presents a massive fire and explosion risk.
I can’t see these technologies making it into the home hobbyist sphere anytime soon as a result, unfortunately.
On top of the purchase price, I’m guessing that having something like this running in your home fab will require more safety equipment than a uv shroud and an air mover to keep things safe/non-deadly.
Yeah, like the printers using metal powder need pretty much a hazmat gear to operate.
This was also one of my concerns with the hype surrounding low cost SLS printers like Micronics, especially if they weren’t super well designed. The powder is incredibly dangerous to inhale so I wouldn’t want a home hobbyist buying that type of machine without realizing how harmful it could be. My understanding is even commercial SLS machines like HP’s MJF and FormLab’s Fuse need substantial ventilation (HEPA filters, full room ventilation, etc.) in order to be operated safely.
Metal is of course even worse. It has all the same respiratory hazards (the fine particles will likely cause all sorts of long-term lung damage) but it also presents a massive fire and explosion risk.
I can’t see these technologies making it into the home hobbyist sphere anytime soon as a result, unfortunately.