Overview: Proposing to get newer up to date resin printers with their own filters so they can be used safely in the space. the additional mats and designated station gloves for any use and handling of printer or printed parts. As well as a storage cabinet for resin and isopropyl (flammables) there are also tools for cleaning your parts and removing supports.
Printer Proposal Cost: $2,730
Consumables Proposal Cost: $779.51
Storage: 3d printing area
Maintenance: calibrating printer (for only one resin type) replacing silicone matts, resin screen, gloves, floor mat. resin light to cure any drips/work area.
Certification Required: Yes, will be Peter Nekos for Resin Printer usage and safety
Since we are only using one resin type, it should be as simple as disposing of it into a container and disposing of it at a facility when it gets full. I already sent in a quote to confirm resin disposal cost, being considered a household waste where it would be as simple as someone brings the container to them and they charge $40.
Shouldn’t the containers be included in the vote? At work, we collect our waste IPA/Resin mix in these containers: McMaster-Carr
They must be DOT/UN compliant for chemical transport, and must be metal due to the flammability of the IPA. (And the flammables cabinet needs to be grounded to the building electrical ground to prevent static electricity sparks).
We keep two, so that when one is full we can have it picked up while waiting on the other to be emptied.
We also use them to store our clean IPA, so we have a flammables cabinet that can hold 4 of them.
Are you sure on the $40 price point? Did you give them the SDSs for the IPA and Resin so they could see the Oligomer and Monomer content? We pay significantly more than that each time we need to dispose of a jug because of the Monomers.
I was told that the plastic container we had on site was sufficient. I’m more than willing to have it changed to a metal container.
At my previous job, we disposed of our resin waste in a glass container. While running multiple printers, we rarely ever added to it unless we had a print fail or a resin sat for too long. Since this would be a community resin and we would be adding to it, I don’t see this being an issue. I am more worried about making sure people are wearing gloves and handling the material safely( dripping on the floor or table).
To answer the question of it being a community resin, this would be an honor system where you use what you need. If you are using a lot and know you will use a lot, then you can buy the same resin type. But for smaller prints that people normally have, this can just be a consumable that we buy once we are low. 12kg of resin is a lot, and it’s only $200; it should last way longer than a month.
Resin also has a shelf life of 2 years. It can still be used after 2 years, but can become brittle, still functional though. I also think that 12kg of resin should last 3 -6 months before it’s all used up.
I think I’m a no vote on this… I would like to see the station set up and work flows and material/waste management figured out with the printers we’ve had in the space for years before deciding to buy another printer. We’ve had a few stops/starts trying to figure out resin printing for Hive13, and it really seems to always get stuck on the cleanliness, ventilation, and waste management. What’s stopping us from figuring those hard parts out with the printers we have? I definitely would be a yes vote once that’s handled.
Do you want to set up ventilation for the printers we currently have? That can be a separate vote if needed. I was asked to find printers that would satisfy our safety requirements, and that’s what guided the proposal I put together.
The printers I proposed have their own external ventilation attachment. That system runs continuously while the printer is operating and is designed to be sufficient for filtration. The only ongoing requirement would be replacing filters every few months. The printers we currently own do not have a ventilation port or the ability to connect to a system like this.
For cleanliness and workflow, I proposed floor mats around the printer area, a glove station, and silicone mats at the workstations where supports are removed. That setup should keep the space clean and manageable.
On waste management: there should be very little waste overall. I don’t anticipate us filling a full container of resin under normal use. I agree that switching from a plastic container to a metal waste container makes sense. I spoke with Environmental Enterprises Inc. – Plant & Lab Pack, located at 4650 Spring Grove Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45232. and they confirmed we can drop waste off on Tuesdays or Wednesdays between 7:00–11:00 AM for $40 per disposal.
As a blanket statement, I do not plan to retrofit the old resin printers with ventilation. It would cost more than it’s worth, take up space, and require time we don’t need to spend. The new printers’ improvements in speed, build size, and built-in ventilation would realistically put the old printers in the same position the Enders are in compared to the Bambus. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the reality from a capability standpoint.
Thank you for asking these questions. I should have addressed this more clearly when I first created the discussion topic and vote, that’s on me. If there’s anything else I’m missing or need to think through, let me know. I want to do this the right way and make the area functional again. I think this would be a strong starting point and would get a lot of use.
The ventilation just needs to be something like a bathroom fan in the space. The one we installed at work is 250cfm I think? Nothing directly attached to the printers. It’s as much for the cleaning/IPA fumes as the printer resin.
We generate a fair bit of resin contaminated IPA at work (with less printing volume than I would expect at the hive). The IPA gets saturated with resin and makes the parts sticky, so you have to swap it out with fresh every few dozen prints. Roughly a 5 gallon container every 6 months?
Just a simple bath fan like this in the outside wall of the 3D printing room would be sufficient. Really, should have one for FDM printers too, most places with proper EH&S programs require ventilation in any space with 3D printers, as some of the plastics offgas stuff that’s not great even for FDM.
I’m voting no on this. Personally I have no interest in resin printers as I avoid resin at all costs. This is quite a large vote and I don’t know of people wanting to use this over more sustainable 3d printing that works fine. If the user base is small, why not use the existing resin printers?
Just from a quick google search “12kg of resin can likely produce 600 to over 1,000 miniatures.” That’s kind of a lot.
If we find that we’re going through resin unusually fast, then that’s something we should pause and evaluate. At that point, we can reconsider whether it makes sense to continue offering it as shared community resin.
That said, I don’t think we should preemptively restrict it before we have data showing there’s an issue. If usage becomes excessive or a small number of members are consuming a disproportionate amount, we can implement a policy where high-volume users purchase their own resin.
For now, I’d recommend we monitor actual usage, track consumption rates, and make a decision based on measurable data rather than assumptions.
I’m in complete agreement with that part. Stocking a $200 consumable that could last for 2 years is a tiny little nothing-burger in the budget. It also would simplify dealing with the material because it is always a know entity with known behaviors. *IF* it becomes a problem, it is a small enough one to fix at a later time.
It also means that if someone wants to fuck around and try something, the barrier for entry of finding out is pretty much non-existent. Having a community stock let’s someone make one of a thing, and get an idea of if it is something they’d want to continue doing and learning more about.
Again, I’d be in support of 1 of these to see if the realities match up to the theory. As Peter explained, these new versions seem to simplify the harder questions of safety and ventilation. So if the lift is smaller to get a new device working than retro fit in the existing devices, that seems more practical. And if that is the case, maybe we should move the old ones along as well. Maybe even have a Hive13 Yard sale to get stuff out that works, but we will never use. And use the proceeds to host a few hack parties with pizza and beer to get the new/existing stuff moved and setup?
The new ones proposed are no different from the old ones we have for safety and ventilation. Requirements are identical, room ventilation still required due to the fumes from handling the resin before and after printing, and the IPA while washing/drying/curing.
Also, I’m confused about the proposal for water wash resin, but including IPA for washing in the vote? I cannot support water wash resin, because it mistakenly leads people to believe that the waste water is non-toxic. It’s not, it contains oligomers and monomers from the resin, and thus has to be disposed of by a chemical waste company. So might as well use the IPA wash resins that work better.
I vote no until there is clear consensus among the folks I would consider experts at the Hive regarding mitigation and safety measures as well as clearly understood disposal requirements for the waste.
If there is consensus about an eventual need to vent to the outside world, the placement of the vent should be designed into the build of the new space to minimize spend down the road when we choose to install it.
