The RIZE One 3D printer. (Image courtesy of RIZE Inc.)
Boston-based RIZE Inc. is dedicated to creating products for industrial additive manufacturing systems around the world. The company is known for having developed and patented a hybrid printing technology it has termed “Augmented Deposition.” RIZE has worked with NASA, the U.S. Army, PSMI and a few key universities on various projects. Its mission to serve global industry at the highest level requires that the company receive many key certifications. To that end, the company recently announced that it has received an industry-first certification—called the UL 2904 GREENGUARD Certification—for its RIZE One industrial 3D printer. The certification covers both the machine and its Rizium One filament, release and marking inks.
Why Is This Certification Important?
The certification derives from a new UL 2904 Method for Testing and Assessing Particle and Chemical Emissions from 3D Printers.
For some background, UL is a well-known and well-regarded safety science company that published a two-year study of emissions and waste on 3D printers. UL found that many desktop 3D printers are releasing terrible pollutants into the air. Waste particulate matter, known as volatile organic compounds (VOC) and carcinogenic ultrafine particles, are being released into the air during 3D printing. Many desktop 3D printers are being used in schools, hospitals, offices, factories and libraries per the industry-wide sales push that began in 2014.
UL’s two-year study detected over 200 types of VOCs, including caprolactam (an irritant of eyes, nose and throat known to cause headaches), formaldehyde (a carcinogen), styrene (a flammable chemical irritant) among others. Also included in the study was an emissions standards guideline called the UL 2904 Standard for 3D printers to create parameters for operating 3D printers indoors without negatively affecting air quality.
Bottom Line
As a key technology of Industry 4.0, 3D printing and all other technologies under this expansive umbrella term should not be without proper safety standards and guidelines in order to protect the health and well-being of anyone working in the environments where they are in use.