Emergency facemask Buck/Mould

thingiverse

Hello all! I took some time to start fleshing out an idea I had during this Covid-19 pandemic. Primarily, I manufacture longboards and skateboards and because of my familiarity with this process - I saw a way to potentially help out individuals or possibly healthcare providers or non-profit organizations. We all have heard about access to Personal Protective Equipment being strained during times like this, and this pandemic is no different. With a diminished manufacturing capability, my country must rely on others to manufacture and supply us with these high-demand necessary products. Enter, a possible alleviation. This download is a buck or mould which can be used to press out one or multiple protective masks. This design is only part of my proof of concept which I will continue to flesh out over the coming weeks. The concept is simple, and involves 4 steps: 1) Print out a buck which will serve as the shape for your mask. 2) Cut and lay out your desired filter materials on top of the buck. I have included a 3mm brim on the model. The edges of your filter material can be sealed along this brim with a NON-TOXIC adhesive, possibly just white PVA glue although someone more knowledgeable may have a different suggestion. You can even lay thin gauge wire along this brim and between layers in order to get a mask that is more rigid yet malleable. 3) Place the buck with your layed up filter material into a vacuum bag. These are very simple to make, or buy and some people have a food vacuum sealer which should work fine for this purpose. 4) Once cured, assemble by adding a string or piece of elastic for securing on a face. These masks should be sterilized BEFORE USE for good practice, and while that may prove a difficult problem to solve, it may be possible to do with UV light or heat. I'll experiment more as I continue to work on and expand this project. NOTE: I am releasing this file ahead of an Instructable, in case someone is faster, smarter or more well off than me, and can benefit before I create a specific guide. The wisdom goes, something is better than nothing.