Filtered Face Mask

A 3D printable face mask with a tight fitting filter cover using a replaceable cloth type filter. Made for the Covid-19 epidemic amongst us.

After 3D printing the mask you'll need to seal it with epoxy or enamel or something else to make it air tight as FDM 3D printing isn't air tight. I assume the other 3D printing technology isn't either but FDM printing certainly isn't.

For filter material you should use something that can filter out down to 3 microns. I cut up an air filter designed for a house's air conditioning system. I got one with an MPR rating of 2500 which is equivalent to about a 13.5 MERV rating with an efficiency of about 96.5%.

The inner filter box cover is a tight fit with the material caught in between, too thick of material and it may not work. You will have to resize the cover if this one won't work for your needs.

You can also try cutting enough material to cover the entire inside of the mask though I don't think that's necessary if you seal the mask, it is however another layer of protection and won't hurt if you can spare the material and if you can get it to form to the shape of the mask correctly; I failed horribly at that task. I also couldn't get it to stick to the mask with glue and it started to come apart like cotton candy and the strings of the filter's fibers started sticking to everything making a big mess.

Visually the attachment points looked better with every edge fillet'd, but it didn't seem to print as nicely so I removed them.

I would love to see what others do with this file and see how they improve on it. If you do please send me a message to have a look at your creation and/or improvements.

Good luck and stay safe out there!

LulzBot

TAZ 6

No

No

The largest you can get away with (approx. 65% of the diameter of your nozzle)

0 - 100

No real special instructions needed to print this mask. It prints fine without any supports. It's only 2mm thick so there isn't much room for infill except at the attachment points for the elastic head band. I used 25%, time will increase minimally. In fact I just ran it through my slicer at 100% and the estimated time went down 2 minutes with an increase of approximately 2 grams of filament. I used a .6mm nozzle and printed at a .38mm Layer Height. Print time approx. 2 hours 6 minutes (100% infill)

They say 3D printed mask really won't protect you from the Covid-19 virus. This may be true if you were to just print it and wear it without any post processing. However, if you seal the cracks between the layer lines and make the mask air tight then the only way the virus can enter your mouth or nose is through the filter. Your filter choice is one of the most important parts of this mask! You need to filter down to at least 3 microns. I cut an air conditioning filter made for allergies. I got the highest quality largest rating I could find. I got one with an MPR rating of 2500. That will filter down to 1 micron. And 1 filter could probably make 100, 200 or more. There's quite a bit of material in those household filters and very little is needed for this mask. I suggest sealing the mask with an enamel or epoxy liquid or spray or Flex Seal is probably a great idea!