Single-Particle ICP-TOFMS Analysis of Aerosol Particulate Matter Released by Fused Deposition Modeling 3D Printers

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is increasingly popular.
• Understanding byproducts from 3D printing is crucial due to its growing use.
• Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is a common 3D printing technique.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel method for collecting and analyzing metal particle composition from FDM 3D printers.
• To investigate airborne particle emissions from common FDM filaments like ABS and PLA, including metal-filled filaments.
• To quantify metal content at the single-particle level.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a positive-pressure sampling chamber and membrane filters for particle collection.
• Developed a water-based extraction procedure for collected particles.
• Employed single-particle inductively coupled plasma time-of-flight mass spectrometry (spICP-TOFMS) for elemental analysis.

Main Results:

• Successfully measured over 1000 particles per filament type with a critical mass detection limit of 0.03 fg.
• Identified Aluminum (Al), Titanium (Ti), Iron (Fe), and Zirconium (Zr) as the most prevalent metals.
• Found that single-metal Iron (Fe) particles constituted over 50% of the thermoplastic particle population and detected characteristic Fe:Cr ratios in stainless-steel filament emissions.

Conclusions:

• The developed spICP-TOFMS method is effective for characterizing metal emissions from FDM 3D printing.
• Common thermoplastic filaments release metal-containing particles, with iron being predominant.
• Printing with metal-embedded filaments releases characteristic metal aerosols, confirming the release of stainless-steel particles.