March 31, 2020
Description
This is my design for a re-usable face mask frame that could utilize a variety of filter media. This is NOT a respirator and does not claim to be, however, many design features were inspired by respirators. I welcome all feedback in the comments section to further iterate and optimize.
It consists of the following:
The usual caveats about printing this sort of device apply as testing has been limited. But all plastics used during prototyping survived my local hospital's H2O2 atomizing autoclave device, so it can be sterilized. My excellent medical provider and the local medical engineering team will continue to conduct further testing on plastics used to include more field expedient methods of sanitizing, porosity/liquid absorption, and oxygen flow/CO2 build-up with different filter media (though the one-way valves should help with the last). I also want to coordinate for a vapor spectrometer test to see if the printing process releases and VOCs in printed samples.
I think this is about as complicated as one can go for a face mask producible on a consumer-grade printer using commonly available filaments. It requires about 6H total to print all parts, so production is not as scalable as I would prefer though it might present an interesting exercise in distributed manufacturing.
And of course, safety considerations:
-Use this design at your own risk...something something neither liable nor responsible...something something...
-3D printed items can be porous and permeable
-Recommend checking the SDS of whatever you print for particulates and hazardous volatile compounds
-This will be an inferior/less desirable solution than similar parts from approved sources
-Pretend that you have COVID-19 when moving the part from the print bed to a sealed container for delivery
-I fly helicopters and ride motorcycles, so my perception of acceptable risk likely doesn't match yours or the FDA's.
-Also, properly washing your hands for 20s and practicing disciplined social isolation will almost assuredly do more to improve your health outcomes than any mask you can buy or print. Don't risk compensate.
Special thanks to Dr. Connor, Mr. Saesz of O2 Canada, and the S&T Team for input and ongoing evaluation of this design.
License:
Creative Commons - Attribution - Non-Commercial