Clips to make a COVID-19 shop towel mask

thingiverse

I needed a simple way to fold and clamp a shop towel into a face mask. First, I tried stapling the ear elastic bands but found that normal staplers can't penetrate the material properly. So, I designed a 3D printable clamp instead. To make one mask, you'll need to print each part twice. You'll also require two rubber bands, a paperclip for the nose bridge, and some scotch tape to secure the clip in place. Here's how to assemble it: a) Fold the blue towel in half lengthwise. Open a paperclip and curl its ends as shown, then attach it near the fold line using tape. This will be your nose bridge that you'll fold down to match the contours of your face. b) Accordion-fold the towel and attach the first clip. Note that the clip's teeth won't puncture the towel, but the tension from the back clip will keep it in place. To assemble the clip, hold the front and back clips together and slope them where the two rear holes for the straps are exposed. Then push them into the retaining clip as shown. c) Attach two rubber bands to the retaining clips to secure the mask around your ears. Choose rubber bands that fit snugly against your face. At this point, you can try on the mask by adjusting the paperclip nose bridge. You know it fits right when a strong breath causes the towel to inflate and deflate visibly. In my case, I check for fogging of my glasses to see if I need to adjust the nose bridge. Keep in mind that we have limited data on the effectiveness of polyester fabric used in shop towels. One report suggests that folding it in half improves its performance, but it still won't filter as well as an N95 mask. It might be possible to use the clips with a Hepa paper from a vacuum bag, but I haven't tested that. Stay safe and stay home as much as you can!