Under Tested’s Fuse 1 demo, a viewer asked whether the powder falls under the microbead ban. He quoted a definition of microbeads as manufactured solid plastic particles smaller than one millimeter. It’s a fair question. Formlabs itself classifies unsintered SLS powder as a microplastic, so what do SLS powder microplastic rules actually require?
Does the US microbead ban cover SLS powder?
No. According to FDA, the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 covers rinse-off cosmetics, including toothpaste, that contain intentionally added microbeads meant to exfoliate or cleanse. Printer powder isn’t a cosmetic, so the definition the viewer quoted doesn’t reach it.
What about the EU microplastics restriction?
That one’s broader. Commission Regulation 2023/2055 added entry 78 to REACH Annex XVII, covering synthetic polymer microparticles. The Commission’s explanatory guide says placing them on the market has been banned since 17 October 2023 unless a derogation or transitional period applies. The size limit is 5 mm in all dimensions (15 mm for long, thin particles), far above any SLS powder grain.
Two derogations look relevant. Paragraph 4(a) covers any use at industrial sites. Paragraph 5(b) covers end uses where the polymer permanently changes and stops being a microparticle. The guide’s 5(b) examples are paint films and “PET in pellets melted during the production of plastic bottles.” It doesn’t mention 3D printing, so which derogation applies to your powder is a question for your supplier.
What do SLS powder microplastic rules mean for a shop?
Paperwork, mostly. Under either derogation, the powder has to ship with instructions for use and disposal. For 5(b) products that applies from 17 October 2025, and the guide says the instructions should also cover leftover product in containers and on tools and work areas.
Under 4(a), manufacturers and industrial downstream users also report estimated releases to ECHA by 31 May each year. Reporting starts in 2026 for pellets, flakes and powders used as feedstock in plastic manufacturing, and in 2027 for other uses.
What should you ask your supplier?
Email your powder supplier two questions: which derogation they place the powder on the market under, and where their instructions for use and disposal are published. File the answer with the safety data sheet. If they say 4(a), ask whether your site has its own reporting duty, and get that answer in writing.
Related on the Solvi blog: SLS Powder Cleanup: How to Keep Dust Under Control; Incoming SLS Powder: Check It Before It Prints; SLS Material Changeover: Is Switching Powders Worth It?.
Sources: YouTube: Formlabs Fuse 1 SLS 3D Printer Demo (Adam Savage’s Tested), viewer question; FDA: The Microbead-Free Waters Act FAQs; European Commission: REACH restriction of synthetic polymer microparticles, explanatory guide (PDF); Formlabs: Cleaning after a powder spill.