The "acetone slump" isn't quite that bad, usually less than 0.25mm. What can cause problems is that it rounds off all sharp corners and small details. For PLA you can get a similar effect using Ethyl Acetate, but beware, it's seriously nasty stuff and you should only use it outdoors if you want to survive the process!
McBryce.
Nothing nasty about Ethyl Acetate, it's used to flavour confectionery, as a solvent in nail polish, for decaffeinating coffee and lots of other things. Has low toxicity (Rat, oral, 5620 mg/kg*) and even smells pleasant (somewhere at the intersection of pears, apples, bananas and pineapple).
*Ethanol for comparison is 7060 mg/kg, people happily drink 40% ethanol for fun.
![](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/?action=dlattach;attach=1369931;image)
https://www.ehs.com/2015/04/ethyl-acetate-a-sweet-smelling-safety-hazard/
Yes, it is a byproduct and component of winemaking and natural fermentation, so would seem "more or less harmless".
However as produced for use as a solvent, it is considered highly flammable, a potent skin irritant, a safety hazard if inhaled and neurotoxic if ingested.
I'm not sure if overall it is more or less dangerous than methyl hydrate, but I certainly received plenty of flak for suggesting that as a substitute for IPA, so I'm not exactly sanguine about suggesting that ethyl acetate is "not nasty". ![Confused :-//](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/confused0024.gif)
mnem
![Undecided :-\](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/undecided.gif)
O, c'mon, an MSDS for seawater would read like a nightmare. Ethyl Acetate is barely any more hazardous than Ethanol. Flammable? Name me a common solvent that isn't. Causes skin irritation? What doesn't, especially on an MSDS. Causes serious eye irritation? Ever had whiskey get in your eye? May cause drowsiness or dizziness? What organic solvent doesn't, potentially? Neurotoxic? You have drunk ethanol haven't you?
I get a bit tired of misinformation about chemical hazards, blowing up what small risks there are out of all proportion. People see terms like that in an MSDS and don't consider the
degree of hazard that something presents. If a substance can cause
any effects they will be listed in an MSDS, it does not mean that everything listed that way has significant potential for harm. MSDSs are written in such a way that the writer's lawyers can turn around and say "
Our client provided you with an MSDS and you were warned of the hazards", they are produced defensively, not as neutral guides to the actual hazards involved.
You can drink ethanol, people do every day and in moderation it's harmless. Isopropanol is used to dissolve flavourings for food use and is, again, harmless in reasonable quantities. Ethyl acetate is used as food flavouring - if you've eaten anything with artificial banana or pear flavour, you've eaten it (The classic English 'pear drop' sweet is more accurately described as an Ethyl Acetate sweet). They will all be 'neurotoxic, cause drowsiness or dizziness, and eye and skin irritants' according to their MSDSs.
From a toxicity point of view I'd much rather use Ethyl Acetate as a solvent than Methanol or any chlorinated solvent. Flammability wise it's about on a par with Acetone.
To put this all into perspective, as I've already noted the LD50, oral, rat for Ethyl Acetate is 5620 mg/kg. There is a substance that if you regard Ethyl Acetate as dangerous will horrify you that has an LD50, oral, rat of 3000mg/kg making it nearly twice as potentially deadly as Ethyl Acetate. This scary substance? Na Cl, good old table salt.