# 3D Printer emissions kill family and their pets.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3d-printer-emissions-kill-family-and-their-pets/778460>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [January 29, 2017, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3d-printer-emissions-kill-family-and-their-pets/778460 "2017-01-29T01:07:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2017, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3d-printer-emissions-kill-family-and-their-pets/778460/1 "2017-01-29T01:07:46Z")

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Had to be in Berkeley. what a downer, man. Like the establishment finally struck back.

Yeah, I read the hippie thread in imho before posting. 😃 3D printers are a happening scene today.

Seriously, who expects a printer to kill you? Unless you sleep with his wife? Bada bing

OK enough joking, it is unfortunate and he careful out there. 3D Printers can kill.  
[https://www.google.com/amp/www.nydailynews.com/amp/news/national/couple-found-dead-berkeley-home-killed-carbon-monoxide-article-1.2958150?client=ms-android-motorola](https://www.google.com/amp/www.nydailynews.com/amp/news/national/couple-found-dead-berkeley-home-killed-carbon-monoxide-article-1.2958150?client=ms-android-motorola)

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

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**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2017, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3d-printer-emissions-kill-family-and-their-pets/778460/2 "2017-01-29T03:25:32Z")

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I’m going to go out on a limb and say it wasn’t a 3D printer that did the deed, certainly not the type shown in photos within the article; those are FDM printers (Filament Deposition Modeling) that work on the principle of extruding molten plastic out of a nozzle to lay down the material of the print, there’s no burning involved and if there is it’s because something went very wrong and the thing won’t be printing anything, for example if extruder temperatures are too high the filament will decompose in the print chamber, not burn since there wouldn’t be enough oxygen in there for that to happen. The only way an FMD printer would produce any significant amount CO is if it’s on fire.

The article mentions a laser 3D printer and my hunch was that they actually meant a laser cutter, since the only type laser 3D printer that can be expected to be used at home would be a DLP machine, which uses a UV laser to cure resin inside a vat layer by layer, again, no CO is produced.  
Sure enough, [I checked and found this discussion thread](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13507734), there was one 3D printer and one laser cutter in the room, also the theory of CO poisoning from the laser cutter is just speculation.

I guess we can chalk this up to the media erring on the side of hype when a buzzy trendy word can be appended to a story, such as 3D printing.

Having said that, there are health considerations for FDM printers, some materials can release not-so-nice fumes and all of them, to one degree or another, generate airborne particulates that can affect people. Irun my printers in a spare bedroom for that reason.

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**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2017, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3d-printer-emissions-kill-family-and-their-pets/778460/3 "2017-01-29T03:36:27Z")

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Different story. This time they are blaming a 3D printer for an explosion.

BBC News  
[https://www.google.com/amp/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/37859495?client=ms-android-motorola](https://www.google.com/amp/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/37859495?client=ms-android-motorola)  
Here’s the original news source for the Berkeley CO death.

> **[Carbon monoxide poisoning may have caused mysterious deaths](https://www.berkeleyside.org/2017/01/28/carbon-monoxide-laser-cutter-may-caused-mysterious-deaths-berkeley-home)**
>
> Carbon monoxide poisoning may have killed a young couple and their cats in their home last weekend, but the official cause has not been determined.