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Comment by neilv | Hacker News Reader

When 3D-printing toys for young children, are there any safety tips to know?

(I'm wondering things like material toxicity, microplastics, teething hazards, swallow hazards, fracturing to sharp pieces, rounded corners, etc.)

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I used PLA, which is a non toxic bio plastic. ABS is also an option for at-home 3D printing, which is the material used in lego bricks. At his age, he doesn't put anything in his mouth anymore, so swallow hazards were not a concern. That said, the only thing that's small enough for him to swallow are the buttons and the knob, which can not be detached from the device without unscrewing the enclosure. If he is able to do that, nothing is save.

Pretty sure the issue with 3d printing materials is that they contain additional materials other than PLA and ABS for proper melting and flowage and those could indeed be an issue.

I have some actually recyclable PLA but even that has no real no toxicity rating.

That's good information, thanks!

Next to what others have said (pretty sure there are only very few PLAs who are even close to actual non toxic in terms of small traces of helper materials) but there are finishings you can use to make it food save!

I wouldn't eat from it, but it works and would pretty much solve any issues.

Pretty sure those finishing resins are marketing to finish Beton and stuff like that.

You should never put anything 3D printed into your mouth, regardless if you swallow it or not, because 3D prints aren't "food safe" and may release small pieces.

Also, some materials are hazardous to print (ABS or resin for example) but fine when they've cooled down.

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