COVID-19 Face Mask

thingiverse

This is a "remix" design of lafactoria3d's Covid-19-mask https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4225667 where you can find the face mask STL file. I made some changes to make it easier to manufacture and faster to print. I eliminated the Cap and Grid and made some "retainers" to hold the filters in place. This mask seems to be the best solution that I've come across so far, it fits comfortably on the face, is easy to breathe, and the filter is optimum. There are a lot of comments about how porous the masks are and about the limitations of the filters but these are better than nothing in my opinion, and in my Doctor's opinion. My doctor has tried these masks and she said they are better than the ones she gets from the hospital. Because of shortages and long shipping times, I have made these masks as simple as possible, you just need PLA, cloth, paper towel (or some sort of paper filter), elastic bands, and wire ties (which can be optional but make it easier to tie and adjust the elastic bands.) Key features: 1. Regular PLA or Flexible PLA can be used, the comfort and fit seem to be equal even without foam padding. If you are printing with regular PLA, the mask can be molded for a better fit using hot water or a heat gun/hair dryer. I don't have scaled versions for different head sizes at this time. 2. The filter for this mask can be either paper towel (or equivalent) or a CPAP machine pollen filter. Breathe-ability seems to be the most important feature; if it fogs up glasses or is hard to breathe, it causes more problems than particles getting into the mask, and people might take them off, or hold them up to breathe and possibly touching their face. 3. The elastic straps are tie wrapped to the mask and adjustable by pulling on them Disclaimer: This filter is for mechanical protection only and is not intended to replace an N95 mask. Materials: 1. Regular PLA or Flexible PLA or TPU 2. Regular PLA for the filter brackets 3. Paper towel or equivalent or CPAP filters: supported filters are Resmed Airsense 10 CPAP filters or Respironics Dreamstation CPAP filters. 4. A cotton cloth to cover the filter and make the mask "less scary". About 60mm x 60mm square. You can cut this from tee shirts or golf shirts. 5. Wire ties (for attaching the elastic bands to the mask) 6. Elastic bands, such as children hair bands. Two pieces per mask, each 17" long. Instructions: 1. Print and touch up the mask. See photos: Clean up the excess plastic and bumps using a soldering iron and a rotary tool so that the mask is soft and comfortable around the edges where it meets the face. Sometimes there is a problem when printing the nose area (see pictures). Use a soldering iron and some plastic from the reel to seal up the areas that did not print well. 2. Set out the filters and the brackets for the filters. The STL file names: a. pptl = paper towel filter b. rm = Resmed CPAP filter c. rp = Respironics CPAP filter 3. Place the filters as shown in the pictures, making sure they fit snugly into their respective brackets. 4. Insert wire ties and loosely tighten (see pictures). 5. Insert the ends of the elastic bands through the wire ties and tighten as shown in the pictures. Test the elastic band to see if it can pull back and forth so that a person can adjust the tightness on their head. Revisions: 4/9/2020: Tightened up the dimensions of cv19-rp-inr-brkt so that it fits best. cv19-rp-out-brkt now has a place for a 4x2mm magnet in the center rail. Removed the clutter of the SKP files. If you want them, let me know. 4/8/2020: I have added filter brackets for a paper towel filter (pptl) and made the filter so that it fits more easily in regular PLA masks. I've discovered that regular PLA masks are just as comfortable as Flex PLA masks and easier to print with less fibers to clean up. I've also discovered that the tin foil electrostatic filter is making it harder to breathe in the mask, so, I've made it optional. 4/6/2020: I've uploaded new STL files which make the masks more breathable and a better seal on the filters. I've eliminated the magnets; they were blocking airflow. I've included the Sketchup Free CAD source files.