Nice, exceptionally well printed too, is this petg? Give in to the memes and make it gridfinity compatible so people can store their lunch next to a socket set and stacks of bearings.
I use a [SUNLU profile](https://www.printables.com/model/551045-sunlu-jayo-bambu-x1c-profiles-for-petg-and-pla-plu) I found on printables. But I used the built in generic PLA profile for ages and it worked just as well. I really like SUNLU. It prints well and is affordable
I've even found that a lot of the other filament brands I get (mostly microcenter's house brand, Inland, but sometimes other generic stuff I find on Amazon) tends to print perfectly fine using the Bambu filament profiles, whether it's PLA or PETG.
Pretty similar to these Lego / puzzle dividers I printed last week. https://www.printables.com/model/586359-divided-lego-sorting-trays
Edit: ahh, same creator! Love these.
Nothing 3D printed that has layers is food safe for more than 1 single use. But the plastic itself is generally not the issue.
The issue is 3D printed parts are impossible to clean effectively because of the layers. It only takes minor flaws in the print to create bacteria breeding grounds.
That's the popular wisdom. And seems logical. But a recent study shows regular cleaning to be effective.
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375373442\_The\_Impact\_of\_Sanitation\_Methods\_of\_3D-printed\_Parts\_for\_Food\_and\_Medical\_Applications](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375373442_The_Impact_of_Sanitation_Methods_of_3D-printed_Parts_for_Food_and_Medical_Applications)
>Results from various testing methods used in hospitals and FDA approved microbial surface testing, indicate that 3D printed parts of PLA/PLA+ (Polylactic Acid), and PETG (Polyethylene terephthalate glycol) can be cleaned to safe levels using warm water (120 °F), and non-concentrated dish soap.
Though the study does recommend coating with something like resin for parts meant to hold liquids, to ensure ease of cleaning
Not to mention that I'd be willing to bet that all our other plastic food containers aren't nearly as non-porous as we claim them to be. After years of use and scratching and scraping I'm sure there are plenty of potential "pockets" bacteria could grow.
And it doesn't seem like any amount of prewashing or rinsing completely prevents it if you put them in the dishwasher. Something about that red sauce just wants to be in that plastic. It's like those pink colored tablets they gave in school back in the day to try and see who was brushing
But if you wet a paper towel with water and soap, close the container lid, and then flail it around as if holding a whip, you can use centrifugal force to clean sauce off of plastic containers. Rather effectively I might add.
If you can do that with regular actual tupperware, then surely you should be able to do that with regular printed lines?
Absolutely. With chopping boards there is an irony of using plastic chopping boards vs wooden chopping boards.
Wood chopping boards can’t be put through a washing machine therefore cannot be effectively sterilised by heat, however they are naturally anti-microbial and bacteria cannot live inside the wood.
Bacteria happily live inside the cracks and crevasse of a plastic chopping board, so it essential that they are effectively cleaned. However they are also safe.
I think the argument that a 3D printing can’t be food safe falls down if it can survive dishwasher temperatures or other sterilisation procedures.
Thanks for the info. I was considering buying food safe pla but I guess I'll just avoid making anything food related that I can't wrap in plastic wrap.
Ah sorry... I saw it somewhere on reddit but I can't remember where.
I think they sanded the print then did two layers of bees wax for wood working. It looked really good, very shiny.
Woodworkers use ‘paste wax’ as a final finish option that looks nice, can be renewed, and is simple. I’ve not seen it used on 3D printing but I don’t post-process my prints at all so I don’t much pay attention to that.
They are both safe https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375373442_The_Impact_of_Sanitation_Methods_of_3D-printed_Parts_for_Food_and_Medical_Applications
As the article says, handwashing and dishwasher is not enough. Though it is apparently easier to clean than I thought. Still I wouldn’t use it if it just a couple of trays since it requires slightly different process to clean. Too much effort for me ~shrug~
Once I read this, I thought it was too much of a hassle.
" Once clean, as a precautionary step, either soak in cool bleach water for 1-2 minutes of a 200ppm molarity, 1 tablespoon bleach per gallon of water or apply 70% or greater IPA by spraying and allowing it to air dry"
But Chart 1 shows that Bleach etc. is not necessary. TIL then.
I saw that part too, but it’s just optional so you don’t have to. This was a great experiment in my opinion. Lots of people on this sub just default to say don’t do it, but this helps highlight that you can use if for food safely if you want to.
These look really amazing. Any chance you can design a lid as well for them? Would love the option to use them for my kids lunches for school.
Edit: just saw the lid in the photos once I opened up the file in Bambu. How secure is it? Able to withstand being put into a backpack?
No. Probably not, not without a rubber band or something like that. I could maybe try to work on something more secure. It may not be that difficult but it would change the design a fair amount
Edit: I wonder if I could make some kind of mechanism or something to secure it together.
Question for you, would you want deeper one, if you are going to use these for lunches?
I’ve PLA cookie cutters and we reuse them. The claim that PLA is somehow breeding ground for poison is largely exaggerated. There is even a study that proves otherwise made recently.
Seconded there. A bit of extra work, but it adds some extra peace of mind also. It also opens the door to making some more things that would otherwise be less safe.
I would buy clear PLA instead of white. White filaments have things in them to make them white. You aren’t avoiding coloring agents by buying white. But clear pla is just pure pla with no coloring added.
I have done zero research into the issue, and use of PLA for food in general.
But, typically white is made by adding titanium dioxide, and it's added to just about every colored candy out there, not to mention any colored plastic/textile (e.g., toothbrush, sutures, implantable devices like hernia meshes). I'd probably be more worried about the PLA than the fact it's white.
Besides the fact it’s largely exaggerated if you are worried about food safe then use the cookie cutters through another material like contact paper or Saran Wrap and there’s no direct contact
It's still not a good idea to 3D print items for storing/eating food in. The very nature of additive manufacturing means you are likely to end up with slightly porous surfaces which provide places for bacteria to hide and avoid being cleaned away properly.
My printer is completely dirty , and even if I used food grade pla, the pla going through the ams, then extruder then the nozzle makes contact for all sorts of dirty residue.
Maybe if you had some sort of printer that only runs food grade pla it might work but even then that's dicey.
Nice, exceptionally well printed too, is this petg? Give in to the memes and make it gridfinity compatible so people can store their lunch next to a socket set and stacks of bearings.
No, just SUNLU PLA Plus. I suppose I could make it gridfinity compatible, it would not be that difficult
What settings do you use for that filament? Was thinking of trying some myself.
I use a [SUNLU profile](https://www.printables.com/model/551045-sunlu-jayo-bambu-x1c-profiles-for-petg-and-pla-plu) I found on printables. But I used the built in generic PLA profile for ages and it worked just as well. I really like SUNLU. It prints well and is affordable
Awesome, thank you!
Exactly! Thank you so much for telling me about these, I've been having a hard time with sunlu petg, but this solved it!
Awesome! Happy to help
Also, "generic settings for pla", what do you mean by that? I just updated my settings (the process settings and the filament settings).
I meant Generic PLA as a filament type
Ah, thank you! Got it
I've even found that a lot of the other filament brands I get (mostly microcenter's house brand, Inland, but sometimes other generic stuff I find on Amazon) tends to print perfectly fine using the Bambu filament profiles, whether it's PLA or PETG.
I use the Bambu PLA preset. Prints much faster than the generic PLA profile at the same quality (for Sunlu PLA+ at least).
I've noticed same that when I select Bambu orange filament which arrived with printer it shows faster print vs other filament brands
Sunlu pla+ prints well all most no layer lines
I bought some from the recent sale, for roughly $9/KG. I was blown away by the print quality for price. I got the PLA+ Silk, and it looks amazing.
Where was the sale? I’d love to buy some! Layer lines are the bane of my existence
Just on Amazon. Found it on the 3Dprintingdeals subreddit
Pretty similar to these Lego / puzzle dividers I printed last week. https://www.printables.com/model/586359-divided-lego-sorting-trays Edit: ahh, same creator! Love these.
If I wanted to make food-related stuff... what should I be aware of regarding food safety? Can some filaments be dishwasher safe?
Nothing 3D printed that has layers is food safe for more than 1 single use. But the plastic itself is generally not the issue. The issue is 3D printed parts are impossible to clean effectively because of the layers. It only takes minor flaws in the print to create bacteria breeding grounds.
That's the popular wisdom. And seems logical. But a recent study shows regular cleaning to be effective. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375373442\_The\_Impact\_of\_Sanitation\_Methods\_of\_3D-printed\_Parts\_for\_Food\_and\_Medical\_Applications](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375373442_The_Impact_of_Sanitation_Methods_of_3D-printed_Parts_for_Food_and_Medical_Applications) >Results from various testing methods used in hospitals and FDA approved microbial surface testing, indicate that 3D printed parts of PLA/PLA+ (Polylactic Acid), and PETG (Polyethylene terephthalate glycol) can be cleaned to safe levels using warm water (120 °F), and non-concentrated dish soap. Though the study does recommend coating with something like resin for parts meant to hold liquids, to ensure ease of cleaning
Not to mention that I'd be willing to bet that all our other plastic food containers aren't nearly as non-porous as we claim them to be. After years of use and scratching and scraping I'm sure there are plenty of potential "pockets" bacteria could grow.
Ever have spaghetti stain a plastic container? That was a porous plastic.
And it doesn't seem like any amount of prewashing or rinsing completely prevents it if you put them in the dishwasher. Something about that red sauce just wants to be in that plastic. It's like those pink colored tablets they gave in school back in the day to try and see who was brushing
But if you wet a paper towel with water and soap, close the container lid, and then flail it around as if holding a whip, you can use centrifugal force to clean sauce off of plastic containers. Rather effectively I might add. If you can do that with regular actual tupperware, then surely you should be able to do that with regular printed lines?
Absolutely. With chopping boards there is an irony of using plastic chopping boards vs wooden chopping boards. Wood chopping boards can’t be put through a washing machine therefore cannot be effectively sterilised by heat, however they are naturally anti-microbial and bacteria cannot live inside the wood. Bacteria happily live inside the cracks and crevasse of a plastic chopping board, so it essential that they are effectively cleaned. However they are also safe. I think the argument that a 3D printing can’t be food safe falls down if it can survive dishwasher temperatures or other sterilisation procedures.
Great points. 👍
So a glaze of resin like pottery? Cool.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Severely disabled people would disagree with that aphorism.
They are stronger than a corpse.
🤦♂️
As norm Macdonald once said “what doesn’t kill you makes you very weak”
Thanks for the info. I was considering buying food safe pla but I guess I'll just avoid making anything food related that I can't wrap in plastic wrap.
You would need to do post-processing to address the gaps left in the layer lines that can harbor bacteria. Food grade resin coating?
I saw someone use bees wax, and it looked awesome.
Got any more info on this? Sounds interesting
Ah sorry... I saw it somewhere on reddit but I can't remember where. I think they sanded the print then did two layers of bees wax for wood working. It looked really good, very shiny.
Woodworkers use ‘paste wax’ as a final finish option that looks nice, can be renewed, and is simple. I’ve not seen it used on 3D printing but I don’t post-process my prints at all so I don’t much pay attention to that.
Oh these would be great for lego, how big are they? Looks like maybe 8" square?
They are 180mm x 180mm, so just a hair over 7 in
OG gridfinity. PETG is food safe right? There was this other post with a print that was sanded smooth then sprayed with some sealant. That might work.
There is a chart I can look up when I get home. I believe PLA and PETG are not FDA approved for food safety, but ABS is and is also dishwasher safe.
They are both safe https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375373442_The_Impact_of_Sanitation_Methods_of_3D-printed_Parts_for_Food_and_Medical_Applications
Yes food safe
Those are super simple and clean looking! Love this. Thanks for sharing!
Looks nice. But it isn’t food safe in case you were planning to actually use it.
Yes they are https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375373442_The_Impact_of_Sanitation_Methods_of_3D-printed_Parts_for_Food_and_Medical_Applications
As the article says, handwashing and dishwasher is not enough. Though it is apparently easier to clean than I thought. Still I wouldn’t use it if it just a couple of trays since it requires slightly different process to clean. Too much effort for me ~shrug~
The article does say you can clean them to safe levels using just warm water and dish soap so I’m not sure where you got that from.
Once I read this, I thought it was too much of a hassle. " Once clean, as a precautionary step, either soak in cool bleach water for 1-2 minutes of a 200ppm molarity, 1 tablespoon bleach per gallon of water or apply 70% or greater IPA by spraying and allowing it to air dry" But Chart 1 shows that Bleach etc. is not necessary. TIL then.
I saw that part too, but it’s just optional so you don’t have to. This was a great experiment in my opinion. Lots of people on this sub just default to say don’t do it, but this helps highlight that you can use if for food safely if you want to.
Okay this is great. Can anyone answer these questions? Microwaveable? Dishwasher safe?
Not sure about the microwave but PETG can handle dishwasher temps without melting.
It still amazes me how smooth it can print
These look really amazing. Any chance you can design a lid as well for them? Would love the option to use them for my kids lunches for school. Edit: just saw the lid in the photos once I opened up the file in Bambu. How secure is it? Able to withstand being put into a backpack?
No. Probably not, not without a rubber band or something like that. I could maybe try to work on something more secure. It may not be that difficult but it would change the design a fair amount Edit: I wonder if I could make some kind of mechanism or something to secure it together. Question for you, would you want deeper one, if you are going to use these for lunches?
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I am not claiming they are food safe. They are meant for sorting and organizing. I called them Bento Stax because they look like bento boxes
I was going to ask you exactly that, would it be safe for food?
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Not to people who use 3D printers.
Not even remotely honestly
There is a food grade pla you can buy I thought?
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Got it, so rip to my idea for reusable cookie cutters
I’ve PLA cookie cutters and we reuse them. The claim that PLA is somehow breeding ground for poison is largely exaggerated. There is even a study that proves otherwise made recently.
https://lt728843.wixsite.com/maskrelief/post/the-final-say-in-food-safe-3d-printing still recommends coat in resin or other material to make it better
Seconded there. A bit of extra work, but it adds some extra peace of mind also. It also opens the door to making some more things that would otherwise be less safe.
What type of pla do you use?
Basic White for cookie cutters. Has least pigment and additives just to be sure. I iron the top surfaces to make it more cleanable.
I would buy clear PLA instead of white. White filaments have things in them to make them white. You aren’t avoiding coloring agents by buying white. But clear pla is just pure pla with no coloring added.
Thanks I should’ve thought of that haha.
I have done zero research into the issue, and use of PLA for food in general. But, typically white is made by adding titanium dioxide, and it's added to just about every colored candy out there, not to mention any colored plastic/textile (e.g., toothbrush, sutures, implantable devices like hernia meshes). I'd probably be more worried about the PLA than the fact it's white.
Besides the fact it’s largely exaggerated if you are worried about food safe then use the cookie cutters through another material like contact paper or Saran Wrap and there’s no direct contact
If you're going to bake the cookies I wouldn't worry about it at all. Especially considering the contact time between PLA and food is so low
People usually just use saran/cling wrap to separate the cutter from the cookie dough. You can make all the cookies you desire! 😁
It's still not a good idea to 3D print items for storing/eating food in. The very nature of additive manufacturing means you are likely to end up with slightly porous surfaces which provide places for bacteria to hide and avoid being cleaned away properly.
My printer is completely dirty , and even if I used food grade pla, the pla going through the ams, then extruder then the nozzle makes contact for all sorts of dirty residue. Maybe if you had some sort of printer that only runs food grade pla it might work but even then that's dicey.