Alli, It seems we just can't get enough of toxic fumes at Makers, can we? lol. When we're working with our fiberglass outside, the bulk of the fumes are immediately dissipated into the outside air. Any remaining odors, while indeed could be harmful after <i>extremely long exposure</i>, are pretty insignificant compared to the burning plastic of the cutter working with plexi. It's really no different from that of an auto-body repair shop, so realistically everyone should be fine if they're not working right over the material like we are. For one, the odor you're smelling from the fiberglass is just the odor of the material. The odor of the cutter/plexi is from a harsh chemical reaction to the laser. I suppose a good analogy would be the "smell of gasoline" versus "burning gasoline." Both are "bad," but one is way, <i>way</i> worse.<br>
<br>Additionally, while the cutter is being vented out of the "clean room," it is being vented <i>indoors</i>, and that is definitely a huge health concern in general, but probably way more of a prominent health concern compared to us fiberglassing outside. I can see this turning into a nasty argument very quickly, especially since one odor producer (myself) is raising health concerns about another, but I really just wanted to raise awareness about the plexi burning odor in particular. Basically: If you're going to be burning plastic, try to be safe about it.<br>
<br>David Reimer<br><br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 11:36 AM, Alice Scanland <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:alice.scanland@gmail.com">alice.scanland@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
David, <div><br></div><div>You do bring up an interesting point here. If it is appropriate for the person working on the project to be using a respirator is it ok for the people also in the room to not be wearing a respirator? I had noted that 2storyprops use respirators for some projects, but those fumes are still in the room around the rest of us. Often times that work is being done outside (which I'm sure helps) but the doors are usually open and the smell certainly is wafting into the building. Is the danger also wafting into the building? </div>
<div><br></div><div>I don't understand the dangers from these things, I have not worked with the mediums and therefore not looked into the safety. What are your thoughts on this? Should I supply myself with a respirator for the times when plexiglass is being cut, and bondo/fiberglass being worked?</div>
<div><br></div><div>Thank You, </div><div>Alii</div><div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div class="im">On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 9:23 AM, David Reimer <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:davidreimerartist@gmail.com" target="_blank">davidreimerartist@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
</div><div><div class="h5"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Hey everyone. I just wanted to toss this out there in hopes that members become aware of other safety concerns with the laser cutter. A few people have been cutting plexiglass on the laser cutter, and when that happens, it vents out into the rest of the shop. Not only does it just smell bad, but the odor is actually toxic and harmful to breathe in. I'm aware that the cutter is set up to vent out of that area, but when dealing with toxic fumes, you can never be too safe, so I'd just like to encourage members who regularly work with plexiglass on the cutter to pick up an appropriately-rated respirator (not a dust mask, a <i>respirator</i>). 2StoryProps uses respirators when we work with our fiberglass and bondo. So I'd just like to encourage everyone to be safety-minded when burning plastic-based materials on the laser cutter.<br>
<br>David Reimer<br><br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div>On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 8:40 AM, David <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ainut@knology.net" target="_blank">ainut@knology.net</a>></span> wrote:<br>
</div></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div><div>
<u></u>
<div bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
I'm not a safety Nazi but there was no mention of the laser goggles on
the wiki. Do we even have any? Highly recommended whenever the beast
is in operation.<div><br>
<br>
David Merchant<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Enabrin Tain wrote:
</div><div><blockquote type="cite">
<div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<div><span>I think Candleknight did update the wiki page:
(<a href="https://256.makerslocal.org/wiki/40_Watt_Laser_Cutter" target="_blank">https://256.makerslocal.org/wiki/40_Watt_Laser_Cutter</a>)</span></div>
<div><span>/me applauds</span></div>
<div><span> :-D<br>
</span></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt">
<div style="font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif;font-size:12pt">
<div dir="ltr"> <font face="Arial">
<hr size="1"> <b><span style="font-weight:bold">From:</span></b>
Joshua Pritt <a href="mailto:ramgarden@gmail.com" target="_blank"><ramgarden@gmail.com></a><br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">To:</span></b> General discussion
about makerslocal <a href="mailto:general@lists.makerslocal.org" target="_blank"><general@lists.makerslocal.org></a> <br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Sent:</span></b> Wednesday,
January 25, 2012 8:37 PM<br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Subject:</span></b> Re: [General]
Laser Cutter Class Announcement: 1/31/12 @ 7:00pm<br>
</font> </div>
<br>
<div>
<div>I hope someone takes notes and puts it on the wiki!</div>
<div>On Jan 25, 2012 7:43 PM, "Justin
Richards" <<a rel="nofollow" href="mailto:ratmandu@gmail.com" target="_blank">ratmandu@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
<blockquote style="border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;padding-left:1ex">I've
been experimenting with it a lot as well, but i'll be there also. It's
always good to see other peoples opinions and results with things<br>
<br>
<div>On Wed, Jan 25, 2012 at 6:21
PM, WebDawg <span dir="ltr"><<a rel="nofollow" href="mailto:webdawg@gmail.com" target="_blank">webdawg@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote style="border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;padding-left:1ex">
<div>Ill be dere.</div>
<div>
<div>
<div>On 25 Jan 2012 18:08, "Enabrin Tain" <<a rel="nofollow" href="mailto:enabrintain@yahoo.com" target="_blank">enabrintain@yahoo.com</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
</div>
<blockquote style="border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;padding-left:1ex">
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<div></div>
<div>according to the fount of all human knowledge: <br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Fiberglass: <span> </span>yes, sans polymer
(<a href="http://www.cnczone.com/forums/laser_engraving_cutting_machines/46407-can_laser_cutter_cut_fiberglass.html" target="_blank">http://www.cnczone.com/forums/laser_engraving_cutting_machines/46407-can_laser_cutter_cut_fiberglass.html</a>)</div>
<div>Carbon fiber: No
(<a href="http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/749" target="_blank">http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/749</a>)</div>
<div>Kevlar: Requires 1,500watts?
(<a href="http://www.ambox.com/laser-cutting/materials/kevlar.html" target="_blank">http://www.ambox.com/laser-cutting/materials/kevlar.html</a>)</div>
<div><span> </span>I
dunno about this one, there was very little about Kevlar... <br>
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>[-CO-C6H4-CO-NH-C6H4-NH-]n doesn’t have any Cl in it, so
experimenting
with a piece <span> </span>shouldn't be disastrous.
;-)</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>All that said, ours is a 40W laser so there are things
that could be cut by a more powerful laser, that ours can't.<br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote></div>
<<<snip>>><br>
</div>
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<span style="color:rgb(153,153,153)">256-323-0853, <a href="mailto:davidreimerartist@gmail.com" target="_blank">davidreimerartist@gmail.com</a></span><br style="color:rgb(153,153,153)"><span style="color:rgb(153,153,153)">Graphic Designer / Illustrator / Web Designer</span><br>