I really want to buy a printer (resin or filament), but I’m concerned about the health aspects concerning inhaling the dust.
Is it really safe to have a printer indoors? Should I rig up something on my balcony instead? What room do you have yours in?
How do you guys deal with the dust? Do enclosures work? Any complaints from family members?
I have my printer in our “hobby room”, well ventilated and the printer is enclosed with a charcoal filter.
If you’re just printing PLA, a well ventilated room is probably enough to keep VOCs at a safe level.
I still wouldn’t use the printer in a room you’re staying in for several hours at a time while it’s printing, but I would say the noise of an FDM is definitely also enough to make you not want to be in the same room while it’s printing.
Is it really that loud? If I put it on the balcony and run it overnight, will the neighbours complain do you think?
You’ll be fine on a balcony. Prusas are fairly quiet. I have an enclosed printer (a Voron) and it’s fairly quiet. I WFH 2 days a week and am able to have it printing 10 feet from me while working and on calls without issues. I wouldn’t call my old unenclosed printer loud, but it wasn’t quiet either.
Interesting, I still think they’re way too loud to be around. The cooling fan alone is too loud IMO, combined with the steppers whining away it’s definitely not something want to be around for more than I absolutely have to.
They have a mode called stealth mode that should reduce the quantity of noise produced by the steppers: https://help.prusa3d.com/article/power-modes_2213
Evidently the mk3 was significantly quieter than the mk2 with this mode enabled.
On MK4 printers and later, the only thing the stealth mode seems to be doing is slowing down the bigger linear moves. I don’t notice any difference in sound otherwise. The fan is what you mostly hear.
I know, I still think it’s too loud to sit around for prolonged time. 5min? Sure not an issue at all, +30min? It’s a huge issue (for me). It’s like being in a room with a paper printer that’s printing nonstop, not an issue while you’re waiting for a few pieces of paper but you don’t want to sit next to it for hours. Or a laptop with its cooling fan running full tilt, it’s OK for a few minutes, but the droning monotonous sound is horrible to listen to for more than that.
It’s not that they are particularly loud, it’s that the noise they do make tends to be quite “whiney” and high pitched and can get quite annoying after a while.
The problem with putting it outside is that big temperature swings (+/- 10C or so) could cause warping or other problems while printing - the plastic needs to cool at a fairly consistent rate, otherwise you end up with inconsistent sizing on your z-axis.
Filament itself also doesn’t like moisture, so if you live somewhere where you get close to the dew point overnight you could easily ruin the whole spool of filament
Ah damn, there goes my balcony idea.