Open Source 3D Printed Antimicrobial Mask

I think they should take the used masks each day and sterilize them for re-use....

...as I began looking for the best method, I discovered this....they're already doing it...

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/health/coronavirus-masks-reuse.html

uv-c light

What your saying is get away from disposable and back to the reuse kind face mask. A full circle has been made.

on a lighter note... I’d draw the line,.... ^{a little bit before},... here...

Are you a knit picker?

Nah,... but it a legion of grandmas,...

and if you buy a case TP, grandma will throw in a scarf...

and if you buy a pallet of reusable TP,...
grandma will knit you sweater to your size... this weeks sweater color is Topaz....

but I think you’d look better in terra cotta...

I think it's some kind of tool for finding, and disposing of, Klingons.

You’re on the wrong thread... your thinking of this...

Early in my career, shortly after I graduated college,... one of the office girls found a black sock in the office hallway, and was asking around, whose sock was this... some poor fool lost a sock... anyways, later that week,... when I was folding my clothes from the drier, which was my clean clothes basket I was using For the week... I was one black sock short.

I was actually thinking of the joke: "How is a roll of toilet paper like the Starship Enterprise?"

"They both circle Uranus in search of Klingons!"

In light of the Klingons' disdain for political correctness, I do not apologize for this joke.

There was a band from my hometown that went on the Gong Show. They got gonged!

In a similar vein, there are now kits available of sew-at-home masks. Presumably they would be autoclaved and then placed into the supply stream. This was on my car radio, so I didn't get details.

Reusable cloth masks should be part of every home emergency kit. They already are, in parts of the world where there've been severe fires, dust storms, pollution... Very handy thing to have when a pandemic (or any airborne catastrophe) comes around - and there wouldn't be a run on the PPE supplies that medical personnel should and must have.

You would think everybody up north would have face masks for the cold weather....

We do,...

So all you need is some high efficiency air filter media underneath....

https://filterbuy.com/brand/honeywell-filters/honeywell-furnace-filters/honeywell-20x25x5-filters/merv-13/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=pla&utm_campaign=google%20pla#4-pack&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9tbzBRDVARIsAMBplx-TGuVS66ImfArtR90qAPrS7UMejU5fLlIA7gCDADln7RRWUsZfC0UaAgKTEALw_wcB

Well,... indoors or even outdoors, they are uncomfortable (moisture) with being so close to your face,...

not bad when is in the temperature is in the teens. Fº

If that filter material was less than 2 mm thick it might work in a layered mask.

The disposable surgical mask has 3 elements -

1) outer layer is breathable but waterproof or water repellent

(2) middle layer is nonwoven "melt-blown" filter material. it is basically a paper felt.

3) third layer is your liner, next to your face. hopefully wicking away moisture and keeping comfortable.

The N95 has the additional feature of a tighter fit, which puts it ahead.

Some tests have shown the surgical masks to outperform a variety of diy cloth masks by quite a margin, but that doesn't mean the cloth masks are useless. All single layer cloth materials tested in one study reduced exposure to small particles by at least 50%. It is well worth it in the context of a general quarantine to reduce spread of the disease if you have to be out.

In going for a multi-layer mask with some water repellency, filter etc. it is also NB to design for fit and comfort. The pleated surgical style would soon get out of hand if filter material is too thick. Not only comfort but fit will suffer too I think. Washability will be an issue with some materials too - although in general a cloth felt should shrink and mat down in a way that preserves its filter quality I think? Most felts would have to be pre-shrunk to withstand future washes.

Some cloth designs provide a pocket for disposable filter material (tissues) but that's basically putting you back at square one - something disposable that, in emergency, becomes in short supply. So a washable filter material with some actual merit as a filter would be dandy.

Antibacterial textiles in one layer or another of the mask also have potential to improve the product by a margin. As in the 3D printed mask, metals in one form or another are key to that. There are other initiatives in the works, according to what I've read.

Bottom line, if you can't breathe through it comfortably it's not going to be useful except for very short intervals, like the N95. Those things are horrible to wear, I've used them in the studio for tiny particles and it sucks to have it on for half an hour. Same goes for any mask, the more tolerable it is to wear, the more likely it will actually be worn as needed.

Well I don't think it will be necessary to wear a mask all day, or even for hours at a time....

• Honeywell 20x25x5 MERV 13 Replacement Filter
• Actual Size 20x24.75x4.38"
• Hospital Grade. Attracts and captures airborne particles or allergens less than one micron in size such as pollen, fine dust, pet dander. Also captures bacteria, viruses carrying particles, mold spores and smoke.

A pleated filter like this contains a lot of material once it's spread out, and the face mask can be modified for comfort and fit....just a thought

Another option would be the mask style that has a small air passage (or two) built in. Your piece of filter could be fit into that, instead of being all over the face. At 4" thick, that is a LOT of material. May be tricky to slice it up though.

The other question is washable or not?

Just aside from the issue of having to consume a supply of disposable filters, there are the issues of contamination while doing that chore. If the whole mask is washable, the decontamination issues are greatly simplified. As with PPE, knowing how to remove and handle it is a key step for using it.

For some people it's a 3 hour trip to get groceries by public transit or on foot. So a three hour wearable mask is a good goal, IMO. It will depend on climate and season, for sure, which weight or thickness could be tolerable for that kind of lifestyle. OTOH if you drive to the shop and put the mask on to enter the store, no worries about climate in most places - at least, even here, our supermarkets are slightly refrigerated cw the summer temp outdoors. As for decontaminating, I think a ziploc bag would be handy to put the mask into wherever it's removed. Even exposing the bag to sunshine would speed any self-decontaminating process, as viruses do get destroyed by heat. Not sure about bag handling routine if it happens in a parking lot though. So much easier to scrub your hands at home.

How about a full face diving mask with an activated carbon filter attached....that would last for years....

Hell, SE, that would do you for sea level rise as well!

Got a pair of pontoons to go with that?

I need a small microphone setup with a small externally mounted speaker that can be battery powered for communication...and a harness and enclosure to mount the filter in so it will ride like a back pack....

Hey in colors to boot...$11....I think I'm all in under $100...

Don't forget your sunscreen!

Roger that....

How about filters from air conditioners? Evidently...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS59T_KofCw

That’s great,...

a few years back I was involved in developing a 3D printed, variable flow oxygen divider for third world country’s where it was better to have a 3D printer on hand with filaments that trying to secure certain medical devices as needed.

it was volunteer work and open source code like this.

I heard a doctor working in a hospital saying they don't use the N95 masks most of the time. They only use them when intubating a patient or if the patient is coughing.

Whether using the mask to protect others, or protecting yourself, the mask becomes a contamination source when it encounters the virus; whether on the outside or the inside. How long before the virus works its way through the filter?

Here is a (I think) good article on the mask/respirator interest:

https://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/mask

If you're relying on a mask/respirator for absolute protection, you are sadly mistaken!

Disinfecting masks with alcohol....