Foam Splitter for Covid19 Mask Comfort Seal

prusaprinters

This is a small razor blade holder/tool that helps split foam"caulk saver" into two halves. The split foam tubing makes a pretty good comfort seal for the 3D printed masks I've made, making them a lot more comfortable (and probably a more effective seal). The 3/8" foam caulk saver is lightweight, flexible, comfortable and inexpensive. Home Depot sells "Frost King" brand for a few dollars. The challenge is splitting it in half neatly, so I designed this tool to hold a single sided razor blade in the middle of a tube. The foam is drawn through the tool and split in half, ready to be taped/glued to the inside edge of the mask. Thanks to mesheldrake for providing a model of a single edged razor blade, which made designing the tool easier. Print Settings Printer: any printer should work Rafts: No Supports: No Resolution: 0.15 - 0.2mm Infill: 15-20% Filament: any any any Post-Printing ============= Clean-up, assembly and use The hole had some drooping threads at the top, so I had to clean it up by twisting a 3.8" drill bit by hand, so the hole was clear. Use a new, sharp single-edged razor blade and be careful handling/inserting it. after the razor blade is installed it's fairly safe to handle/use Always insert the foam into the beveled end, so it runs into the sharp edge of the razor It's probably best to cut the length of foam you need first and split that, rather than trying to split the entire 20' of foam at once. Custom Section A word about attaching the foam to a 3D printed mask Still looking for the best way to attach the foam to the mask. So far I've tried contact cement and super glue (cyanoacrylate) but good double sided tape (like carpet tape) might be better. Only apply glue an inch or two of foam at a time, and press it into place before applying more glue. Applying glue to the whole length will be too difficult to work with. Contact cement works great but stinks for days afterward. (Also no rework time, once the two sides grab, they're stuck) Super Glue works well if you moisten the section of mask you want to work with with an accelerator (water & baking soda) and apply the super glue to the flat side of the foam. Super glue can be a huge mess if you're not very careful Category: Other