covid-19 mask and shield

thingiverse

Here is a package I put together for COVID-19 front-line workers, including cashiers and other essential personnel. The visor should take no more than 40 minutes to print with 16% infill. The mask prints in 2.5 hours. Please slow down the print speed to 30mm/s for layers 15-30 of the mask. Other than that, print at a standard 75mm/s. Two walls, two top and bottom layers are required. The face shield visor follows NIH-approved guidelines. It can be printed from PLA or PETG with no issues. PLA can be sanitized with rubbing alcohol, hot soapy water, and bleach water, but rubbing alcohol is the best option. It has the lowest surface tension, allowing it to penetrate small spaces that viruses can't fit into. In fact, IPA is required for facilities that manufacture filters that remove viruses from blood. Once printed with a properly calibrated printer, PLA has extremely low porosity. I've used digital microscopes to test this theory, but I'll discuss it further in another topic of discussion later. The face shield uses a standard USA 3-hole punch to create the holes that snap onto the visor. I use non-latex #64 rubber bands to hold it around the head. I purchase clear PVC binder/page covers from Amazon or my local print shop. Both masks use the same filter clip, which has already been scaled down to fit loosely when no filter material is being used. The 3M Filtrete home furnace filters, model 1900 or higher, have been used for the mask. These filters are made from 100% spun polypropylene that's been electrostatically charged. This makes them act like a magnet, attracting viruses and other debris more effectively. Polypropylene doesn't swell when exposed to moisture, which is why it's used in N95 masks. You can also spray rubbing alcohol onto the filter material to sanitize it – just don't soak it in rubbing alcohol or bleach water. The mask with the grid has a center hole large enough for a pen or pencil to push out the clip. Many doctors and nurses carry a pen on their person. I do not guarantee that the masks or shields will prevent COVID-19 or any other type of coronavirus.