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How safe are the materials for 3D printing wrt contact with human skin these days? I recall earlier versions of resin being a bit dodgy back in the day.
by kmfrk 9y ago
How safe are the materials for 3D printing wrt contact with human skin these days? I recall earlier versions of resin being a bit dodgy back in the day.
- tsmarsh 9y agoYeah, the resins before they’re cured are pretty gnarly. But the filament based plastics are usually fine. There is some questions around melting ABS in a home environment. The volume of gasses released are almost certainly below danger levels, but there are viable and ‘safer’ alternatives in PLA and PETG that are easier to print offering better resolution at the cost of high temperature resistant (PETG is similar to the plastic used in water bottles). Unless you live in a dry, desert climate I’d advise against ABS anyway.
- ben_w 9y agoReally? I thought one advantage of ABS was that it doesn’t dissolve in water, unlike PLA? And that one disadvantage of ABS was being UV sensitive, whereas PLA is relatively resistant?
- mattmillr 9y agoWhen I was using an early Makerbot (wow, seven years ago now) the preferred materials for extruder-based 3D printers were ABS, which toys are made of, and PLA, which is used for food-safe cups and utensils. I'd imagine they're OK.
- sannee 9y agoThe food safety concern about porosity and bacteria growth would probably apply for stuff like this. Should be easy to solve by reprinting the prosthesis every few months or something like that.
- jakeogh 9y agoOr design it to be coated with an appropriate epoxy.