This web copy is a reference version for members. The controlled copy is the signed document held by the team; in a conflict, the signed document governs. Reading it does not replace induction, training or per-activity clearance.
On this page
Document control
- Implements
- POL-03 (Operations: Safety, Facilities and Property) §5
- Owners
- Operations Coordinator, with the Tech Team Lead
- Revision
- 1.0 — Initial release
Any change to a hazard, a control or a procedural step requires a new revision number and re-review by the Team Lead, the Faculty Sponsor and the FAS Safety Officer.
Approved by the Team Lead, the Faculty Sponsor and the FAS Safety Officer; takes effect on the effective date above.
Quick-reference card
3D Printing
Do not operate unless
- You have completed the printer briefing and are on the cleared-to-print list.
- The filament loaded is PLA. Nothing else is printed on this machine.
- The build plate is clear and the previous print has been removed.
- You will be in the building for the whole print and will check it in person.
Top hazards
- Burns from the nozzle (about 200 °C) and bed
- Fire from a thermal-runaway fault
- Ultrafine particles and vapour from melted plastic
- Cuts from removal tools and sharp supports
Required PPE
- Safety glasses when removing a print or clearing a jam
- Heat-resistant gloves near a hot nozzle
- Cut-resistant glove on the hand holding the part
- Closed-toe, closed-heel shoes
Stop / isolate
Cancel the print from the controls
Power off at the switch, then at the outlet
ABC extinguisher: ASB 9819 doorway
Never reach into a moving or hot machine
In an emergency
Fire, smoke, venting or injury: pull the alarm, evacuate, call 911, then Campus Public Safety on 778-782-4500.
Then tell the Team Lead and notify the FAS Safety Officer.
Assembly area for ASB is shown on the posted evacuation map. Do not re-enter until emergency or safety personnel authorise it.
Note
This is an open-frame printer with no enclosure and no filtered extraction. That is why PLA is the only approved material and why the print is never left running overnight or over a weekend.
1 Scope and Applicability
This SOP covers the operation of the team’s open-frame fused-deposition 3D printer in ASB 9819: loading filament, starting and monitoring prints, removing parts, clearing jams and routine maintenance.
- Applies to every member who operates the printer or removes a part from it.
- Only members the Operations Coordinator has cleared may start a print. Others may watch a cleared member operate the machine.
- PLA only. ABS, ASA and other styrene-based filaments are prohibited on this machine because it has no enclosure and no filtered extraction. Adding a new material requires a revision to this SOP and FAS review.
- Resin printing, SLS, and any printing involving solvents or post-processing chemicals are outside this SOP. Racerbot does not do them.
Never reach into the machine while it is powered and moving.
Anyone may stop a print at any time if they think something is wrong.
1.1 Purpose
To make sure the 3D printer is operated correctly and 3D prints run without issue.
1.2 Keywords
FDM; fused deposition modelling; PLA; nozzle; hot end; build plate; thermal runaway; ultrafine particles; open frame; SOP-TECH-06; SOP-ADM-09.
1.3 Contact
Questions about this document or the equipment it covers go to the Tech Team Lead. Questions about the workspace go to the Operations Coordinator. Questions about safety go to the FAS Safety Officer. Contact details are available to members through the team’s internal channels.
2 Introduction
The printer turns our 3D models into plastic parts. It works by holding a small metal nozzle at roughly 200 °C and a build plate at up to 60 °C for hours at a time and depositing plastic in a layering fashion to create a 3D part.
Two risks follow. The first is fire: a failed thermistor or a loose heater connection can let a heater run away, and an open-frame machine has nothing around it to contain that. The second is air quality: melting plastic releases ultrafine particles and vapour. PLA is the mildest common filament on both counts, which is why it is the only one approved here.
The most useful safety habit with a 3D printer is watching the first layer. Most failures that end badly — adhesion failure, a nozzle dragging, a jam building into a blob around the hot end — are visible in the first two minutes.
3 Equipment and Apparatus
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| 3D printer | Open-frame FDM printer. Make, model and firmware version recorded in the equipment inventory. Certification mark accepted in British Columbia. |
| Location | Dedicated printer position in ASB 9819 on a non-combustible surface, clear of the battery charging station and of anything that will burn. |
| ABC extinguisher | The workspace extinguisher, unobstructed and in date. |
| Removal tools | Flexible build plate or a scraper with a guard, and flush cutters for supports. |
| PPE | Safety glasses and heat-resistant gloves |
| Smoke detection | Building smoke detection covers the room. The team does not rely on it as a control. |
4 Materials and Supplies
- PLA filament, 1.75 mm, ONLY
- Isopropyl alcohol for cleaning the build plate, handled under SOP-TECH-06 and kept away from the hot end. Never applied while the plate is hot.
- No adhesives, solvents or acetone are used with or near this printer.
PLA is not classified as hazardous in filament form and is not supplied with a GHS label. Where a supplier provides a safety data sheet it is filed in Appendix A.
5 Hazard Assessment
| Hazard | Mechanism of injury | Engineering control | Administrative control | Required PPE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contact burn | Deep burn to fingers or hand from the nozzle at about 200 °C or the bed at up to 60 °C. | Nozzle shroud as fitted; printer sited so nobody reaches across it. | Never reach into a powered machine; let the hot end cool before clearing a jam unless the procedure requires otherwise; announce to the room when the machine is hot. | Heat-resistant gloves; safety glasses. |
| Fire from thermal runaway or a heater fault | Ignition of the printed part, the machine or nearby material; smoke inhalation. | Non-combustible surface; area kept clear of combustibles; firmware thermal-runaway protection enabled; ABC extinguisher within reach. | No printing overnight, over a weekend, or when nobody is in the building; in-person check at least every two hours; first layer watched; wiring inspected at each semester start. | None — evacuate rather than fight a machine fire. |
| Ultrafine particles and vapour | Respiratory irritation from prolonged exposure to emissions from melted plastic in a room with no filtered extraction. | Room ventilation; printer sited away from the seating and bench positions. | PLA used only. Building ventilation enabled. | None required for PLA under these controls. |
| Cuts during part removal | Laceration from a scraper slipping or from sharp support material and flush cutters. | Flexible build plate used if possible | Always cut and scrape away from the body | Cut-resistant glove on the holding hand; safety glasses. |
| Pinch and entanglement at the gantry | Fingers or hair caught in belts, lead screws or the moving gantry. | Moving parts left in their factory guarding; no guard removed for convenience. | Machine paused and powered down before any adjustment; hair tied back; no lanyards or loose sleeves. | Safety glasses; no loose clothing or jewellery. |
6 Hazard Control Measures
6.1 Mandatory engineering controls and PPE
- Engineering controls
- Non-combustible surface; clear zone around the machine; firmware thermal-runaway protection enabled and verified at each semester start; factory guarding intact; ABC extinguisher within reach; room ventilation.
- Required PPE
- Safety glasses when clearing a jam or cutting supports; heat-resistant gloves near a hot nozzle; closed-toe, closed-heel shoes.
- Change-out
- Heat-resistant gloves showing charring or a damaged liner are replaced. A scraper with a rolled or chipped edge is replaced, not sharpened by hand.
6.2 Unattended prints
- The person who starts the print watches the whole first layer before leaving the machine.
- Ensure no flammable items are located around the printer, and the filament role is secure.
- Monitor the printer periodically via remote camera and cancel the print if an issue occurs.
6.3 Handling and storage
- Filament is stored dry and out of sunlight, spools labelled with material and colour.
- The printer is withdrawn from service on any sign of damaged wiring, a loose or discoloured heater connection, an unreliable thermistor reading, or repeated thermal faults.
6.4 Waste disposal
- Failed prints, purge and support material are plastics waste, not hazardous waste.
- Where possible, PLA waste is set aside for recycling rather than binned.
- Worn nozzles and small metal parts and other non hazardous waste goes to general garbage.
7 Pre-Use Inspection Checklist
Complete before starting a print. If any item fails, do not start; tell the Operations Coordinator.
8 Procedure
8.1 Start a print
- Complete the Section 7 checklist.
- Load the sliced file and confirm the profile matches the filament actually loaded. Ensure the correct printer profile is selected and slice results are good.
- Start the print and stay with the machine for the whole first layer. Watch for adhesion failure, the nozzle dragging, and plastic collecting around the hot end.
- Log the print: who, what, start time, expected duration.
- Check the print at least every two hours until it finishes.
8.2 Remove a print
- Wait for the bed to cool. A part removed from a hot plate is a burn and usually a damaged plate.
- Flex the plate to release the part where the machine has a flexible plate. Where a scraper is needed, support the plate and push away from your body.
- Cut supports carefully
- Clear the plate and leave the machine ready for the next user.
8.3 Clear a jam or change filament
- Pause or cancel the print.
- For a filament change at temperature, wear heat-resistant gloves and keep your hands clear of the nozzle tip. Purge into a waste container, not onto the plate.
- For a jam needing tools or disassembly, power the machine down and let the hot end cool first.
- If a blob of plastic has formed around the hot end, do not pick at it hot. Cool the machine, then tell the Operations Coordinator — a hot-end blob is a fire risk and a maintenance job, not a quick fix.
8.4 Maintenance
- At the start of each semester: inspect all wiring, confirm heater and thermistor connections are tight and are not discoloured, and confirm firmware thermal-runaway protection is enabled.
- Belts, lead screws and the nozzle are checked monthly during use.
- Maintenance is recorded in the equipment inventory. A machine with an open maintenance fault does not print.
8.5 Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Print will not stick to the plate | Dirty plate, wrong first-layer height | Cancel, clean the plate cold with isopropyl alcohol, re-level and restart. Do not keep restarting a failing print unattended. |
| Grinding or clicking from the extruder | Jam, or a nozzle partially blocked | Cancel and clear the jam under §8.3. Do not let it run. |
| Plastic collecting around the hot end | Leaking nozzle or a loose heat break | Cancel, power down, let it cool and tell the Operations Coordinator. Do not print again until it is fixed — this is a fire risk. |
| Temperature reading jumping or reading zero | Failing thermistor or a loose connection | Power down at the outlet and withdraw the machine from service. Tell the Operations Coordinator and the FAS Safety Officer. |
| Burning or acrid smell | Overheating wiring, or material that is not PLA | Cancel, power down at the outlet, ventilate and tell the Team Lead. Report under SOP-ADM-09. |
9 Burns and Accidental Exposure
| Exposure | Immediate response |
|---|---|
| Contact burn from the nozzle or bed | Cool under clean running water for at least 15 minutes. Do not apply ice, creams or adhesive dressings. Call Campus Public Safety on 778-782-4500 for first aid, or 911 for a burn that is large, deep, blistered or on the face or hands. |
| Cut from a scraper or cutters | Apply direct pressure with a clean dressing. Get medical attention for a deep cut, one that will not stop bleeding, or one where anything is left in the wound. |
| Smoke or fume from an overheating machine | Power down at the outlet if it is safe, leave the room and ventilate. If there is visible smoke, treat it as a fire: pull the alarm, evacuate, call 911. |
| Molten plastic on skin | Cool with running water. Do not pull the plastic off — cool it and let a clinician remove it. |
Every burn and cut is reported the same day under SOP-ADM-09, however minor.
10 Decontamination and Housekeeping
- The plate is cleaned cold with isopropyl alcohol on a cloth. Never spray a hot plate and never apply solvent to a powered machine.
- Purge material, support offcuts and failed prints are cleared into the plastics waste as they are produced, not left around a machine that gets hot.
- The area around the printer is left clear of anything combustible at the end of every session.
- Tools and PPE are returned to the correct locations
11 Emergency Procedures
11.1 Fire in or around the printer
- Do not open the machine and do not attempt to remove the burning part.
- Pull the fire alarm, evacuate and call 911, then Campus Public Safety on 778-782-4500.
- Only someone trained in extinguisher use may attempt a very small, early-stage fire with the ABC extinguisher, and only once the alarm is pulled and the exit is clear.
- Cut power at the outlet only if it is safe and does not delay evacuation.
- Do not re-enter until the fire department or Campus Public Safety authorises it.
11.2 Overheating with no flame
- Cancel the print and power the machine down at the switch, then at the outlet.
- Leave the room, ventilate it and keep people out until it has cooled.
- Withdraw the machine from service. Do not print again until the cause is found.
- Tell the Team Lead, the Operations Coordinator and the FAS Safety Officer.
11.3 Reporting
- Injuries, fires, smoke, property damage, extinguisher use and near misses are reported the same day to the Team Lead and the Operations Coordinator, and to the FAS Safety Officer.
- An SFU incident report is filed for any injury, fire, exposure, property damage or significant near miss.
- The full process — what counts, who is told, how the review runs — is SOP-ADM-09, Incident Reporting and Post-Incident Review. Reporting in good faith is never penalised, including when the person reporting caused the problem.
Emergency contacts:
| Fire, medical emergency, police | 911 |
|---|---|
| SFU Campus Public Safety (Burnaby) | 778-782-4500 |
| FAS Safety Officer | Contact via the FAS Safety website |
Assembly area for the Applied Sciences Building is the point shown on the evacuation map posted in ASB 9819. Do not re-enter the building until emergency or safety personnel authorise re-entry.
12 References
- SFU Racerbot POL-03 — Operations: Safety, Facilities and Property, §5.
- SOP-TECH-06 — Day-to-Day Lab Operations and Housekeeping.
- SOP-TECH-01 — Lithium Battery Safety, Charging and Storage.
- SOP-ADM-09 — Incident Reporting and Post-Incident Review.
- Printer manufacturer’s user manual and maintenance schedule (Appendix A.1).
- PLA filament supplier safety data sheet where provided (Appendix A.2).
- SFU Racerbot Student Team Risk Assessment, 2026-09-10.
Appendix A — Attachments
Attachments are listed in the order they are referenced and filed behind this page.
| Ref | Document | Date / version |
|---|---|---|
| A.1 | Printer manufacturer user manual — make, model and firmware version | |
| A.2 | Printer maintenance log held in the equipment inventory | |
| A.3 | Cleared-to-print list maintained by the Operations Coordinator |