It's on this page, under "cyanide."

http://www.fireengineering.com/index/articles/display/367511/articles/fi...

Other companies have probably decided that their ventilation/insurance/user situation is such that they can deal with the risk.

With many users on the laser, I'd say it's prob a better idea to err on the side of caution rather than risk having someone forget to turn on the fan, cut a lot of ABS, open the lid, and croak.

JC

...data though. I was also interested in this, when I took the SBU. (More curious, since I spent many years working as an environmental chemist). At least the manufacturers admit that cyanide is a decomposition product (MSDS, MSDS).

The question is at what concentration.

I've only found one reference so far concerning the detection of 2 - 5 ppm of cyanide during the purging process for ABS injection molding (at 268°C to 305°C).
Emissions from Processing Thermoplastics

The NIOSH recommended exposure limit (short term) is 4.7 ppm. The OSHA permissible exposure level (applicable to those working at TS over any 8-hr workday, 40-hrs/wk) is 10 ppm.
NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards

I won't draw a conclusion... lasing ABS involves vaporization of the material.

My personal feelings are that adequate ventilation is the key. Having worked with far more hazardous chemicals than cyanide, I wouldn't hesitate to use a tool like this in my place of business with proper ventilation and user training... or unless someone convinced me otherwise. ;)

That being said, it's not my place of business, and TS has every right to limit its liability. :D

BTW, I found it interesting how devoid the Epilog website is of related information. They refer to its ability to cut "plastics"... that's pretty non-specific.

I think the automatic fan is a great idea, if TS will agree it's acceptable risk. Additional room ventilation (dedicated/not shared) could also be used for added safety.

BTW... this got me thinking about the 3D printer. Essentially liquefies ABS. Is that vented? (or will it be vented?)

The 3D printer is not ventilated. Liquefying (more like softening, iirc) is very different than the high-speed, high-temperature vaporization / decomposition / combustion that occurs with the laser cutter. Merely melting the plastic does not cause significant decomposition, so the nitrile (CN) groups in the ABS stay as part of the polymer. It's when they're incompletely combusted that you get HCN formation. If you read the MSDS, you'll find HCN listed as a combustion product, but not as a hazard when handling molten plastic.

OTOH, some references indicate that high-temperature ABS combustion is comparable to other nitrogen-containing materials, including eg leather, which we allow in the laser cutter.

Laser cutting is ideal for quickly making custom parts out of sheets of plastic or wood. All you have to do is draw your design on a computer, and you can have a completely custom part delivered as quickly as the next day! Once you have a design that works, it is easy to make more identical parts, which is especially convenient for designs with many repeated components (such as leg parts on 6-legged walking robots). Plastic Machinery