COVID-19 DIY Mask Respirator 3DP Cavity/Core Mold by dbarron4

Last crawled date: 4 years, 1 month ago

This is a remix of Silvia Stroe's respirator mask in an attempt to DIY a mold to make N95 masks from household materials with a high Fit Test Score. The files are for a 2 part mold to sandwich materials at high pressure to create well fitting masks for the coronavirus scarcity.
It was 3D Printed on an Ender-3 with 0.5mm layers using a 0.8 nozzle in Hatchbox PLA - it supported several hundred pounds of clamping pressure via standard woodworking clamps. 3-4 Layers of paper towel with a 10:1 Water/PVA solution as a binding agent lightly applied from a spray bottle between layers worked well to form masks. The masks had decent structure but still let some filtered air through via the holes in the mold where little to no pressure was applied, 2 layers of vacuum bags with the same binding agent also worked well. Water/flour mixtures worked okay, but not as well as PVA.
Would love to throw a mask molded with vacuum bags or paper towel on a TSI PortaCount Respirator Fit Tester if anyone has access to one. It really does fit well - good work Silvia.
Silvia Stroe's respirator mask: Mask for Respirator-Free Reanimation Venturi's Valve
No guarantees masks made from this mold design have any medical value - it sure makes you feel safer though..
If there are any great ideas for filter materials / binding agents, drop them in the comments and I can test them out.