How safe is the Filter?

Hi, first I just want to say I’m very excited to get the Glowforge!

I currently have the basic + filter preordered. I have one concern though. To what level does the filter function? I live in a one bedroom apartment with my girlfriend, two dogs and two green cheeked conures. Is the filter safe enough for the birds specifically? They are very sensitive creatures. I just want to take every precaution. Thanks for any help!

Upfront, I have no knowledge whatsoever on the filter efficiency. However, I have owned parrots and other large birds. I am sure you are aware some chemical fumes will kill birds. For example the following is from a company the produces Teflon products: “Because birds have extremely sensitive respiratory systems, bird owners must take precautions to protect them. Cooking fumes, smoke and odors that have little or no effect on people can seriously sicken and even kill birds, often quite quickly. Cooking fumes from any type of unattended or overheated cookware, not just nonstick, can damage a bird’s lungs with alarming speed.” I personally wouldn’t risk using a laser cutter in a small apartment with birds no matter the filter design capability or the materials used.

That said, others are likely to have more accurate experience with these types of filters.

Thanks for the reply @rpegg !

Yeah, I’m most definitely aware of all of the above as I’ve had birds my whole life. I’m curious as to if it’s fully enclosed, the efficiency of the filter, all of that. They tout the GF to be safe around family with the filter, so I’d just like to know to what extent and how it’s rated.

If it comes down to it, I simply won’t use the GF when the birds are around and use a ton of fans! :wink:

Has there been any testing done on the air filter and how many ppm are emitted with the filter on? I have 2 little ones in the house and need to make sure they are safe if we use it inside. We would rather not have to set it up in our garage but in our home office inside.

I would think that the emissions from the filter are going to depend on so many factors that it is difficult or impossible to make exact claims. One factor would be the amount of use the GF sees and another would be the sorts of materials that are being cut or engraved. Different materials will release different compounds and the filter probably is more effective on some of those compounds than on other.

Mike is correct.

Carbon filters are rated by how much they will drop the known levels. So the input level must be known.

Fun fact: the lower the air flow, the better they work because the air has more contact time. Thus a large filter surface area to reduce FPM. But it comes at a cost of more carbon and a large footprint.

http://www.flanderscorp.com/files/FlandersFFI_literature/PB1206_SuperFlowVC.pdf

And, a carbon filter will not 100% stop everything. some gases go right through it.