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3d printer safety - resin smell and curing (with video)

By Gavin Davies

I’m a newbie printing using Resin on a Mars Elegoo 2P. I’m not sure I’m curing my prints safely enough - any tips?

Since I did my original 3d printer safety freakout last year, I’ve improved my printer safety with better ventilation, a proper respirator, and a workflow that keeps my tools and equipment cleaner. I also moved it all into the garage so it’s not in my day-to-day workspace any more.

However, there’s a TIIIIINY smell of resin, even in cured models!

My current process is:

  1. print
  2. rinse in IPA (swish around)
  3. second tub of IPA (toothbrush scrub)
  4. let IPA evaporate
  5. stick it in a cardboard box lined with silver foil and shine a UV light on it for 30 minutes

The prints come out great, but even after curing, there’s still a faint smell of the resin.

I’ve read that this could mean it’s not fully cured… If so, is it safe to give the prints to my kids to play with?

I’ve tried curing underwater, which seems to help somewhat, but do I need a proper curing station?

I’d love some advice from folks with a bit more chops than me :-) I posted a thread on a forum to ask for help and the video is on my Youtube also: