Digestible Filament?
I'm working on a "thing" for veterinary use. Is there a filament that is non-toxic and safely digestible if an animal happend to eat this "thing"? On the other hand, how about X-Ray opacity. Does anyone have experience with printable plastics showing up on x-ray to locate and remove if necessary?
Re: Digestible Filament?
The problem isn't so much the filament as the rest of the printer being used which needs to be considered. The entire chain has to be considered safe for the end product to be as such - there is probably a lot to learn in your application in the oft-discussed areas of whether 3d printing and printed objects are food-safe in relation to humans.
I think that unfortunately 3d printing is not going to be the optimal path for you in this case...
Re: Digestible Filament?
I would check with sites for Food 3D Printers. There are printers that will print both food and non-food materials such as the RoVaPaste and the ZMorph VX. Hopefully a user there could help you with your questions.
Re: Digestible Filament?
I'm working on a "thing" for veterinary use. Is there a filament that is non-toxic and safely digestible if an animal happend to eat this "thing"? On the other hand, how about X-Ray opacity. Does anyone have experience with printable plastics showing up on x-ray to locate and remove if necessary?
I'm guessing that the intent is not to make something that is intentionally edible, just that you understand that sooner or later some animal will decide it looks like a tasty snack regardless.
In that situation ABS isn't going to be any worse that any other ABS they might ingest at home. Given it's ability to decompose I would guess that PLA is the least bad, but still far from digestible.
As far as x-ray goes, a metal infused filament would be the most visible, but that is going to bring it's own list of potential problems.
Re: Digestible Filament?
I would suggest using your 3D printed part to make some silicone molds, and then cast using whatever material you want. You can purchase silicone that is biocompatible, and the casting process is very straight forward when you have a 3D printed master. For radiopacity, look into Barium Sulfate (BaSO4). It shows up under x-ray and is readily available from medical supply online stores. It is meant to be mixed with another material, whatever your base material is. For material, not sure, but Nylabones are generally safe, so maybe a type of Nylon?
All in all, be careful here with liability. Last thing you want it someones pet getting hurt over it.
Re: Digestible Filament?
Yes, it’s just a strain relief/anti-kink clip for an iv line. For use in my Vet clinic. Typically will be under wrapping on a pets leg. Not intended for consumption, but you never know. I’m tired of fluid pump alarms sounding off because the pets yank and kink their lines. Thanks for the suggestions and prompt replies.
RE: Digestible Filament?
I'm working on a "thing" for veterinary use. Is there a filament that is non-toxic and safely digestible if an animal happend to eat this "thing"? On the other hand, how about X-Ray opacity. Does anyone have experience with printable plastics showing up on x-ray to locate and remove if necessary?
RE: Digestible Filament?
Regarding visibility in Xray - whenever I happen to have filament spools with me when going to work, those are very visible on security xray we put our handbag through. To the point it occasionally raises attention of security staff and they ask what it is. But this probably is different type of xray machine than those normally used in medicine, with image processing for material identification etc.