Finally unboxed my Form 2 today. I’m used to the Form 1/1+ and the normal resins - grey, clear, white, black - and I’ve done a lot of prints of each. I noticed the tough resin creates a fairly noticeable, slightly unpleasant odour. I’m not 100% sure if it’s the resin, or because of the new heating element in the Form 2.
The smell is very similar to that produced by the old experimental MakerJuice resin that they made for the Form 1 (in red/green), only less intense.
Has anyone else noticed it? Any thoughts?
I’m a bit surprised as the other FormLabs resins I’ve used don’t really have any smell at all (at least not to an objectionable degree).
I haven’t noticed any huge different in smell compared to the others with my Form 1+. It does have it’s own smell though and it’s very similar to the way the flexible material smells, just not as strong. I’m not sure if you’ve ever tried the flex material but that is what it reminds me of. The flex and Tough are stronger smelling resins compared to the standard white, grey, black, etc.
The SDS for Tough resin is:
Skin irritation: Category 2
Respiratory or Skin sensitization: Category 1
Eye irritation: Category 2A
Target organ systemic toxicity: single exposure Category 3
Odor: Light Acrylic
The SDS for Black resin is:
Skin irritation: Category 3
Respiratory or Skin sensitization: Category 1
Eye irritation: Category 2B
Target organ systemic toxicity: single exposure Category 3
Odor: Light Acrylic
Even though the odor for Tough states it’s the same as the standard black, I would say it’s a slight bit stronger but not anywhere near as strong as the Flexible.
Sounds about right for me, on a scale of 1-10 for unpleasant fumes the standard resins are a 2, tough is a 4, and flexible is 7. Everyone’s scale is different though as everyone has a different sensitivity to VOCs.
That reminds me… I have a flexible print to start today… ugh… Great material though. =]
Thanks for chiming in. I ran a print of Flexible today, in my Form 2 but using Open Mode (so heater disabled) and resin from the old Form 1+ style bottles, and interestingly I found the smell much less intense than the cartridge-resin Tough.
I’m thinking when the Form 2 heats the resin it intensifies the smell? Otherwise I’m backwards from everyone else in my sensitivity to Tough vs. Flexible. They both are definitely much more noticeable than the standard resin smell I’m used to on the Form 1/1+. Will have to do a run with a standard resin on my Form 2 or a functional resin on my Form 1+ to compare.
Hmm, I didn’t take into consideration the heating feature of the Form 2, as I have the Form 1+. I suppose heating could intensify the effect. Also keep in mind that everyone has different sensitivities to our bodies senses. Perhaps you’re just more sensitive as you said. Maybe ask your coworkers or friends which they think is more potent smelling. Probably one of those things that if you ask 5 different people you’ll get 5 different responses
