Metal 3D Printing: Risks and Precautions

When most people pay attention to the post processing of ABS print parts, few people think of metal powder 3D printing. Nowadays, many companies have begun to focus on metal 3D printing. However, how many people could exactly understand the risks and problems in metal 3D printing process?

Eplus3D realized this serious problem, so we started to take measures. It can be said that if the leakage of ABS material is a small trouble, the leakage of metal powder could be a big issue.

The threat posed by metal powders is obvious and real, especially when they enter the eyes or wounds. Therefore, experts recommend that anyone approaching a metal 3D printer must wear a high temperature laboratory suit and transparent goggles, nitrile gloves with a thickness of at least 5mm. The material will be manually loaded until a better way appears. It is necessary to take these protective measures when loading powder materials into the printer. Experts believe that when the machine is running, you must wear protective clothing and respirators. Facial respirator can filter out 99.97% of particles below 5 microns. Of course, sometimes it is unavoidable to touch the metal powder. For example, in the post processing of metal printing, the operator cannot avoid touching the metal powder.

Although ABS or other plastic printing materials will produce smoke and some carcinogens, metal 3D printing may produce some more dangerous substances. For example:

Harmful gases produced during the oxygen replacement process: usually occur during the replacement of oxygen by argon or nitrogen, and carbon monoxide may be produced. When multiple machines are running at the same time with poor ventilation condition, carbon monoxide may be produced in the process of replacing oxygen with argon and nitrogen. Therefore, the monitoring of oxygen indicators is very important.

Static electricity and fire: For fires caused by metal powder, special fire extinguishers must be prepared at all times, and relevant fire drills must be done at ordinary times. Operators must learn to use D-type fire extinguishers to extinguish metal flames.

To reduce the fire, Eplus3D suggests:

1. The printer must be connected to a wire;

2. The machine body must be equipped with an antistatic device;

3. The ground must be equipped with a vacuum cleaner;

4. The ground must have antistatic coating;

5. The operator must wear antistatic shoes;

6. There must be a D-type fire extinguisher next to the metal 3D printer.

Welcome to contact us for more precautions in metal 3D printers!