I am reaching out since the other questions are from 2020 or earlier. I am looking to upgrade my resin printer from my older lo her orange 10 and slightly newer Photon Mono (not 'X') to either a Saturn 3 Ultra or Saturn 4 Ultra. While I will mostly be printing gaming miniatures, I am also wondering about printing cookie cutters for my wife’s cookie-baking business.
Have any food-safe resins come out or will I need to use my Ender 3 S1 pro FDM with food-safe filament for these?
Given the following (more recent) texts, SLA (and resin) still doesn't seem particularly safe, and you may be better off sticking with your FDM printer.
From this 7 month old (Feb. 2024) article, Everything You Need to Know About Food-Safe 3D Printing (emphasis is mine):
Smoothing and then coating with a food-safe material, for example epoxy resins or silicone coatings, will seal cracks and pores. Thus, resulting in a watertight surface that will prevent food particles from becoming stuck and making washing easier. However, be sure to keep in mind that these coatings also wear down over time, meaning that even if a part is not single use, any 3D printed polymer part should not be in contact with food over a long period of time or be used extensively.
That being said, coating can also be used with other 3D printing processes as well to make them more food-safe. Take SLA 3D printing for example. Generally, resin 3D printing processes are not considered food safe as resins are toxic, even if the final parts are smoother than those made with FDM. However, if covered with a food-safe coating afterward, they could be used for this purpose.
A similar issue arises with SLS 3D printing. Though the process is significantly more food safe than many others (as you can avoid issues related to nozzles or resins), especially when printing with nylon, the parts are still porous. Therefore, again, food-safe coatings are strongly recommended to seal the part.
In any case, it is safe to say that although it is certainly possible to have food-safe 3D printing, it is not without its risks. Safety considerations must be the utmost priority when it comes to anything touching food in order to ensure the health of the person eating, which is why everything that comes into contact with any consumable item goes through so much testing. Still, if you keep these factors in mind and ensure that you are using food-safe materials, you can look forward to using a 3D printer to make parts like novelty cookie cutters or even cutlery.
From this 10 month old (Nov. 2023) article, How to 3D Print Food Safe Objects – Basic Food Safety:
Not all filaments are created equally. While PLA and PETG are considered more food safe than ABS or Nylon, they still aren’t completely fit for use with food items, unless you’re buying a certified food safe variant of them.
Something like the Overture Clear PETG Filament is a pretty good choice because it doesn’t have color additives which can contaminate the filament. Do keep in mind that it is not FDA-approved, but still is generally considered food safe.
Manufacturers will often add chemical additives or pigments to their filaments to enhance their properties, such as more strength, endurance, or flexibility. PLA+ is a shining example of this process.
However, natural PLA that does not contain any chemical or color additives can also be used for food safe 3D printing.
A recommendation would be eSun Natural PLA 1KG Filament from Amazon.
The Taulman Nylon 680 (Matter Hackers) is a top-quality Nylon filament for FDM 3D printers and is widely recognized as being food safe, and is also FDA approved.
Never tested myself, but according to this Reddit question, Are there any food safe SLA resins out there?, it seems that there are biocompatible SLA resins used in some industries: Keyprint KeySplint Soft Clear.
That one is quite expensive, but maybe there are cheaper ones nowadays
