Ah, resin printing. If you’re someone looking to 3D print aesthetic models, this is the technology for you. Much better surfaces, more detail, and nicer corners are huge benefits to this technology.
However, there are some downsides to resin printing that are not talked about very often – mainly related to the safety of resin printing. This is information that is not shown on many manufacturers’ product pages! I had to learn this the hard way – through buying a resin printer and then experiencing the drawbacks.
If you’re like me and you’re coming from a filament-based 3D printing background, some of the precautions that must be taken for resin printing may surprise you.
ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES!!!
This is incredibly important for anyone looking to get started with resin printing. You must ALWAYS wear nitrile gloves when handling resin. Resin is not toxic in nature, but it releases heat when exposed to UV light (such as the sun), which can cause burns to your skin.
Buy some nitrile gloves if you don’t have them already!
PROPER VENTILATION IS KEY!!!
When I say “ventilation”, I don’t mean just a fan pointing out a window. This technology creates a TON of fumes which can be detrimental to your health. Some short-term effects I noticed were headaches and dizziness. This technology has not been around long enough to study long-term effects, which is why I highly recommend having some sort of high-power ventilation system to avoid breathing in these fumes. Personally, I have a closet outside my house which I dedicated specifically to 3D printing with resin.
STORE YOUR ALCOHOL PROPERLY!!!
When a resin 3D print is done printing, it is typically washed in isopropyl alcohol in order to wash off any excess resin that may have stuck to the print. Because of this, you may have to store a large amount of isopropyl alcohol. Taking storage precautions is absolutely necessary. Isopropyl alcohol is extremely flammable, so avoid storing it near any sort of heat or gas-based devices. You should also protect it from any possibly sparks by not storing it near any power-hungry devices.
Make sure you have an airtight container, too. Isopropyl alcohol loves to evaporate into its environment, not only smelling bad but also posing a fire hazard. For these reasons, it is necessary to store your isopropyl alcohol in a safe, airtight container, away from any fire hazards.
Now, what does this mean if you already own a resin printer? You should look into all of these precautions and make sure you’re following them. Safety is absolutely key when it comes to handling substances like UV resin. I hope this article helped you understand the safety-based drawbacks to resin 3D printing, and how you can mitigate any sort of risk!
