Unattended Printing - SAFETY Concerns?!?!?

[Kurt The 3D Printer GUY!!]

OK - this is a REAL Question - one I have been thinking a LOT about just lately. Mainly - because I got this new printer. 

So - as some of you know - I started 3D Printing very close to the beginning of the Desktop 3D Printing Revolution. And, needless to say - I have seen Extensive changes over time! Including 3DP co's that have Disappeared - like SD3D & Essentium - both co's where I worked at. 

But, the real changes I speak of are in regards to the desktop 3DP technology. 

So - years ago - it was said - you really should NEVER Leave your printer alone. As it had the potential to catch fire. There were a Number of cases over the years, where that happened. And, in one case - it was my Buddy JetGuy to whom it happened. But, he was RIGHT next to the printer - and had a fire extinguisher handy. 

Now, part of the tech changes in place - have been much better implementation of sensors for things like heat runaway - and printers would literally turn things off when it happened. Even recently - Exactly that happened with my Ender3 3DP (which is the main reason I got the new printer). 

AS such, for these reason - generally speaking - I would NEVER Leave my printers unattended - not the CupCake, SuperCupCake, WanHao D6 - nor my Ender. 

The ONLY Exception to my rule - was my StrataSys Mojo printer - since it was SUPER Expensive - Over Engineered - and I KNEW that it was Safe to leave that printer going for a long time. I would actually leave my place on Long Island, go into NYC for work - and not be back to my place for 12.5 hours (yeah - that was my standard day for Two YEARS!).

But, my new Elegoo Centauri Carbon - I feel is now Way more sophisticated than my original CupCake - and even more so than my Ender3!

So - what do people think? IS it safe to leave this printer on - running prints - for like 8 - 10 hours at a time???

I may do this, specifically, tomorrow - for about like 3 hours.

That's why I REALLY Wanted to know what others think!!!

TIA,

-Kurt

[W'Ren]

I’m not even remotely the expert that you are, but I leave my prusa milk three all the time

---

W'Ren

Phoenix Acoustics Relaxation

Rise with Rest
Nanaimo BC

604.805.4395

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[Bob Swika]

I do leave my Centauri Carbon running when I need to do long prints. I have a camera that I can view remotely to check in on it .  I work less than 5 minutes from my home.  

Bob

On Sep 5, 2025, at 6:57 PM, Kurt The 3D Printer GUY!! <vr...@optonline.net> wrote:

OK - this is a REAL Question - one I have been thinking a LOT about just lately. Mainly - because I got this new printer. 

[Gary Tolley - Grogyan]

The majority of fires happen because of the cheap 50¢ thermistor on the hotend cracking or partly failing.

Unless the device is properly constrained from vibration, it is best to use better devices like an RTD Pt100 or Pt1000, or thermocouple, these are typical sensors where reliability is critical. 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/3d-printing-tips--tricks/17099BBB-C5C1-4D32-8C62-2A6B5AC3C4FF%40gmail.com.

[Bryan Eckert]

The elegoo (and most others like Bambu) uses a ceramic heater, which isn't capable of reaching the ignition temperature of even lowly filaments like PLA. The hotter the hotend gets, the more resistance the heater has. This is why they generally have an upper limit of 300C or so. PLA auto-ignition temperature is ~380C although it does decompose before that.

The old style heaters with a copper or aluminium block would just keep getting hotter and hotter, hence the fire hazard.

[Kurt Gluck]

It’s a risk.   Newer printers from top companies are less likely, but there are stories.    I upgraded all the smoke detectors in my house to ones that talk to each other and I sit an additional one right on top of my Prusa XL enclosure.      But still … it can catch.   The printer so far has seemed to notice when it drops a tool head and stops.   

Kurt-A