Health & Safety
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DON'T PANIC!!!!
RapMan is not dangerous, so....Why a Health and Safety Page?
Well, Not really wanting to state the obvious but there are a few small hazards in building and operating a Rapman and as these machines are starting to be used in education it might be a good idea to highlight the risks.
Building
RapMan machines have been assembled in all sorts of places, including the kitchen table so as you might gather there is no "heavy engineering" involved. To be honest anyone with a little practical skill should be able to build a machine as very few hand tools are required see this Tool List pdf. The main H&S things to watch out for are hot soldering irons and pinched fingers when using pliers. As many of the parts are laser cut there is a slight risk with sharp edges on the acrylic but these are easily removed before assembly.
Quite a few of the builders do seem to find that they need to use portable electric drills (Dremel Drills) especially those who are into developing or "modding" their RapMan. Just take care with aviding breathing in the dust and avoid drilling your fingers.
Operation
The open/exposed nature of the Rapman gives brilliant access to the workings of the machine, but it's worth taking care when it's printing. The stepper motors are quite powerful and so it's probably not a good idea to put your hands, head or any other body part inside the machine whilst its moving. In particular it's worth keeping hair and fingers away from the x,y and z belts to avoid getting tangled or a nasty getting a nasty nip between a belt and the pulleys.
The extruder is another possible hazard. It heats to a couple of hundred degrees C so probably best to keep fingers away, the nozzle is well inside the machine and access (accidental or deliberate) is quite difficult with the machine running. To put these temperatures in perspective, it should be remembered that this temperature is considerably lower than a normal soldering iron!
Materials
The Rapman works by melting plastic and extruding a fine filament (0.4mm) which builds in layers to make 3D objects. As with any process involving plastics above their melting temperature there is some risk of toxic fumes being given off if it is overheated. This can be avoided by ensuring that appropriate temperatures are selected for making the parts and that the Rapman is used in a well ventilated but draught free area. It is also worth being careful about the choice of materials used, for example uPVC is well known for giving off chlorine based (very nasty) fumes if over heated and should therefore be avoided, ABS is relatively safe.
The nozzle is partially made from PTFE. PTFE is stable up to 250 oC. Above that it breaks down into various gasses, some of which are quite toxic. Not certain if it is posible for the PTFE parts to reach that sort of temperature as it is quite a long way from the actual heater element. But it is another possible reason to use RapMan in a well ventilated area.... just to be safe.
MSDS Sheets
Safety datasheets are available on the BfB website Downloads
currently these cover the following
End Note
Building and using a Rapman is great fun. Don't let these H&S notes frighten you.... Just use some common sense, assess the risks and build/use your Rapman sensibly. And above all ENJOY using it..... Take Care.
