Are finished figurines toxic?

Are finished figurines toxic?

Unless you eat them - no.

Though, not sure if they would be 'food safe' - so no making 3d-printed cups and such.

fhunter wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 6:00 am Are finished figurines toxic?

Not an expert, but the makerspace I'm part of has 3D printers that use just about any of the common technologies / materials... (Some of our members were involved in INVENTING 3D printing, or do things like making giant 3D printers to build sand-casting molds for industrial plumbing parts and so on) Toxicity / food safeness is very dependent on the material, but I don't know of any 'hobby grade' materials that are a problem for handling once cured, even if not 'food safe' - Any are going to be safer than the original lead figures!

I believe the ABS based prints, or at least some of them would be food safe, but not certain. However a bigger concern for a lot of the prints is that they tend to be porous enough not to work well with liquids. OTOH I know that there are videos about HP folks making 3D printed 'treat dispensers' for rewarding their service dogs, and given the expense / difficulty in getting a service dog I'm quite sure they wouldn't be doing anything risky for their health...

Of course you can do 3D printing OF food if you want... I know one member who had a 3D pancake printer, and I've seen an assortment of specialty 3D printers for just about any other sort of food that can be extruded...

WheelyCurious

Biggest issue with 'food safety' is that your whole path (not only plastic) must be food safe.

Is your nozzle for printer made from lead-free material? (cheaper ones are made from brass, and it may contain lead). What about other parts? and so on. It is not only about plastic.