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Slant 3D Blog

The Problems with 3D Printed Respirator Masks

3/21/2020

36 Comments

 
They should only be used as a last resort. That is what we would like to say to health professionals that might not be fully aware of what the technology is capable off. With this post we would like to outline the risks of using 3D printed respirator masks, both for the general public, the 3D printing community, and the medical community that might not fully understand what is being pushed by a panicked, but anxious to help, 3D printing community.
Picture
A couple of the many 3D printed masks that we have printed and tested at Slant 3D (Slant 3D)

Contamination

If you are using crowd-sourced masks. That is, masks that are made by local individuals with garage 3D Printers. Then you essentially have hundreds of individuals handling your masks in their homes. Those people may not be tested for Covid-19. so they could be infecting the masks that they are supplying. This means that they could potentially be directly infecting you staff if you utilize these masks. Amateur manufacturing means amateur facilities and handling.

Sanitation

Due to the layer lines in DIY 3D printed parts these masks can't be reliably sanitized. Therefore even though they will be relatively expensive to manufacture (2-5 dollars each). They would have to be disposable, if they can reliably be used in the first place.

Don't Fit

The vast majority of masks printed are being printed from the baseline design in rigid materials. They do not compensate for male or female. This means that they do not fit most faces. In fact most of these masks fit little better than the oxygen mask in an airplane.

The only option to make them fit is to heat them up in boiling water or in a microwave and then press the softened plastic onto the face of the individual using the mask.

The problem is that these masks are not reusable. They cannot be sterilized. So a worker has to potentially scald their face each time they put on a disposable mask. And the seal is still not viable. Because the mask would lose its seal as soon as the healthcare worker moves their jaw.

The poor fit essentially makes the mask useless except as a splatter guard.

Don't Seal

Again, due to the rigid materials, and DIY designs. Most of these masks do not seal around the face. Admittedly many paper masks don't perfectly seal either. But they also do not force air to move through the few crevasses that exist. And again the only way to get a reasonable fit (other than a plastic part in front of your mouth) is to heat the plastic and form it to your face.

Due to this problem healthcare professionals would almost be as protected if they simply tied a dishtowel in front of their face. Maybe better protected. (Read the full study about these materials effectiveness)
Picture
Different Materials Protection against Small Particles. Note that a defective mask is 0% effective (Davies)

Limited Supply

At Slant 3D we have tested every publicly available 3D Printed face mask. The one that prints the fastest is complete in 2 hours. That means that a single printer could produce 12 a day. There are only about 1.5-2 million 3D printers worldwide. That means that only 24 million masks could be manufactured per day if every printer was working on it 24/7.

China has the capability to manufacture 116 million N95 masks per day right now. And then it takes 2-5 days to ship those out. The US is expected to only need 3.5 billion masks to address coronavirus for a year. That is basically 1 month of production.

3D printing is not necessary and is not viable to address the supply shortages. Supply shortages that do not yet exist. They are only projected based on worst case scenarios. Please everyone calm down and allow the supply chains a few days to catch up.
Picture
Potentially 50-100 masks every 2 hours can be produced with these 3D Printers. (Lulzbot)

In Summary

It is truly great to see the 3D Printing community stepping up to help with local manufacturing. But respirators are not the item to manufacture. There is not yet a need, and when there is, 3D printing is not a viable solution. Please believe us we do mass manufacturing with 3D Printing for a living. Time would be much better spent on face shields, potentially ventilator parts, and general everyday aides.

To the medical community. If you have a drastic need for facemasks please use your knowledge to make a call. At this point there is no magical antibacterial 3D printing material that makes 3D printed masks much better than a torn tshirt tied across your mouth.Use your own judgement. It is possible that 3D Printed masks can help to limit the spread from covid-positive patients. But again, tshirt.

Please feel free to reach out to us here at Slant 3D if you have any questions or need to have some other part manufactured. We are standing by and reserving capacity when viable solutions become apparent.

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36 Comments
haider ali
3/23/2020 12:54:07 am

In power-off mode, your printer will consume less than 1 watt, and probably cost about $0.85 a year. Standby mode costs almost three times as much as a printer in off mode.

Reply
Taranach McLeod
3/23/2020 08:41:47 pm

While you do have many points discussed, you also fail to understand the true scope of the capabilities... 3D printers are also capable of printing TPU which *IS* a flexible, medical grade plastic already being used in the medical industry. Your production numbers and shipping times may be true under normal circumstances but production has been slashed to a minimum and shipping is taking longer due to quarantine situations. and yes Many plastics can indeed be sterilized... finally, even with an imperfect fit and all your other complaints, if you were facing the possibility of certain death and these offer even a 1/3 extra chance of not dying, are you really going to pass up something that can increase the odds? If so, then kindly hasten your own removal from the gene pool.

Reply
David Coots
3/28/2020 12:46:19 pm

How do you sterilize something printed? Did you know of some method short of a gas chamber or radiation, you know something available to the general public?

Reply
no
3/28/2020 05:15:02 pm

Boil them in water or heat them in a oven, ABS has a melting point around 250C.

Whatever
4/4/2020 12:36:09 pm

UV kills bacteria Put your mask under a UV. Thanks

Chinchilla Wafers
4/5/2020 12:50:58 am

Remove the filter and wipe down or submerge in isopropyl alchohol. The filter most likely is a disposable part.

James Lester Peacock
4/7/2020 03:26:06 pm

An Autoclave and high pressure treatment? It sterilizes tattoo needles.

Tracy Li link
3/26/2020 11:20:35 pm

Hi guys, I quickly built this site to help: If anyone can offer 3d printing mask to our front line medical worker. You can publish your offers here. https://3dprintingmask.info/ hope it can help

Reply
Courtney
4/6/2020 11:16:24 am

I read somewhere you can heat the plastics up and mold it to your face. Is that true. A friend of mine made me two and they are a little big for my face.

Reply
3D-Hoosier
3/28/2020 04:19:05 am

Great article... Yet no sources or evidence to back it up? Printed masks and other parts are being tested right now. In one breath you say 3D printed masks are not viable because of layer lines, then in the next suggest time is better spent possibly printing parts for HIGH PRESSURE ventilator systems? The best prevention is still to maintain social distancing and limit exposure. But writing an article based on what you theorize vs actual tested evidence is just as wreckless. No one is trying to make N95 masks. They are trying to help fill a gap where medical professionals EVERYWHERE have NO PPE AT ALL to wear around high risk patients they have to be in contact with... Like nursing homes and other communities. YES, THERE IS A SHORTAGE. PAY ATTENTION. I applaud them for their efforts and if you want to do your community a service, stop theorizing and scolding and TEST. Be part of the solution.

Reply
Camie Green
4/3/2020 04:55:41 am

💯👏👏👏👏👏

Reply
John
4/3/2020 06:46:58 am

Well said!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 There are no sources to back up anything he said and several of the claims were completely false! No one is trying to replace n95 masks. But there is a shortage and the 3D printing community should do everything it can to help! The way we all make it through this is by communities working together! Keep up the good work everyone!

Reply
Nate Moore
3/28/2020 11:42:37 am

Great article, for most situations.

However, it ignores the ingenuity that 3d printers have.

For example:

Cleaning can be achieved by a soak in hydrogen peroxide. Is it sterile? No, but it hits the "it's good enough" level of clean.

Filter media can be repurposed from a MERV16 rated air conditioning filter. Is it as good as an n95 mask? No. Is it better than a T-Shirt? Yes.

The seal can be dealt with by using a circle of self-sticking foam. Future designs printed in flexible material, like TPU, can make things fit even better.

We will get there.

We're never going to get as good as professional grade medical supplies, but we're going to get better than a simple strip of cotton cloth.

Reply
Chris
3/29/2020 06:13:42 am

Would a UV Germicidal lamps in enclosed box help with sterilization?

Reply
Alex Babich
4/2/2020 10:37:59 am

Be careful with MERV 16+ filters, as they are not safe to breathe in (they have fiberglass and other harmful particulates, per a few common manufactures). Many DIY mask makers are using two types of filters, usually MERV 13/14 (like Filtrete 2200) and we still don't know if there's anything harmful from using those up close (opposed to it's traditional AC use).

Reply
Zach Monsue
4/3/2020 02:10:03 pm

Could the respirator not be painted to seal an there for sanitary?

Omar link
4/5/2020 09:51:45 pm

wrong!!!!!!!, whoever wrote this article does not know nothing about 3d printing, you can heat the mask on hot water to mold it to your face for a perfect fit, with a great design you avoid crevices or holes..., you can submerge the mask on Clorox and disinfect it fast and reliable

Reply
sean
4/9/2020 12:41:01 pm

"Supply shortages that do not yet exist."

This is BS. You obviously haven't talked to anyone that actually needs them right now. There's a supply or supply line problem because the nurses that need the n95s don't have them.

Reply
Jose Vazquez
4/10/2020 05:37:45 am

Two other solutions to two issues that the blogger doesn't entertain. For the seal, you can use silicon rubber tape (of course you will have to clean after every use. And #2 use of antibacterial PLA, it's hard to come across but companies like XYZ have them for only a few bucks more than regular PLA.

HV

Reply
M CLARK
4/13/2020 11:02:24 am

You are missing the fact that the only reason 3D printers are being used is because they are a stop-gap until the supply chain catches up. In two weeks, they will no longer be needed by medical staff, but will be soaked up by the public.
THE NEED IS NOW. You can't tell the virus please wait two weeks until the supply chain is ready. The virus is here, now

Reply
Henry
4/13/2020 05:56:16 pm

don't fit ?
Right ! You need a real 3D scanner for actual face size

Reply
Diver
4/17/2020 10:47:08 pm

watch this to know more about the risk of 3d printed mask. https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=ErP28uP4mVI

Reply
DC
4/21/2020 08:19:08 am

There are studies for sterilizing 3d prints. Too many people are making assumptions about what can and cannot be done with safety. Stick to the facts with real science not repeating things you heard or believe.

https://makezine.com/2020/04/10/can-you-really-sterilize-a-3d-print-real-answers-from-actual-studies/

I will agree that rigid prints do not seal well, but there are ways to work around that with additional soft materials for the seal or printing with flexible material if the printer supports it. There's also the issue that many local places where I live still don't have supplies. I do like the idea of the vacuum cleaner bag for the filter.

Reply
DEE
4/21/2020 08:48:24 pm

I AGREE WITH WHAT ALL THE FOLKS SAID!!PERIOD

Reply
Ryan
4/24/2020 11:01:18 pm

It seems more than possible to use TPU as a gasket.

Reply
DIVER
4/25/2020 12:13:04 am

If you are able to print TPU. Put your effort on a well design. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4280201

Reply
Mryan
4/27/2020 02:51:39 pm

At 220c viruses can't survive 3d printing of tpu right. If one uses gloves to get the Montana mask off the bed. Then there would be less risk of contamination is that not right?

Reply
John Q Public
5/4/2020 04:24:51 pm

This article is trying to spread fear and doubt for those that are making PPE for use. This company sells 3 products and would rather that there be a shortage than having people make PPE themselves instead of paying this company.

Reply
Jasmine
5/13/2020 12:27:08 am

I find a great website that can buy the masks. I wanna share with your guys. Hope you can protect yourself. Take care.<a href="https://www.testextextile.com/product/n95-masks-alternative-kn95-masks-for-anti-virus-protection/">https://www.testextextile.com/product/n95-masks-alternative-kn95-masks-for-anti-virus-protection/</ a>

Reply
Alexander link
7/11/2020 10:17:54 am

Too bad that 3d printed masks are not a viable solution :(

Reply
Pete Tinsley
7/26/2020 03:59:19 am

You list surgical masks as being 89% effective protection. Despite there being hundreds of different grades and designs of approved surgical mask designs, any PPE allows 11% of hazard volume to pass into the lungs can't be listed as "effected protection". Any PPE which does not provide adequate protection should not be worn (by law) and should be discarded, including surgical masks. Surgical mask were intended for a different purpose - ironic that the article completely fails to highlight the dangers of makeshift/re-purposed PPE by villifying home-made masks.

Reply
Grant Barnes
8/9/2020 08:18:21 pm

Thanks for a thoughtful article. I find it persuasive.

Reply
Cotton Cart link
9/2/2020 10:17:30 pm

This blog post is useful for me and it explained the face mask important and usage. And we're the one of the face mask manufactured and supplier in India. All kinds of face mask Available like in Kids face mask, N95 Face mask, Tripple Layer, Cotton Mask, Double Layer Face Masks, etc...



For more details visit at <a href="https://cottoncart.in/">CottonCart.in</a>

Reply
Cotton Cart link
9/7/2020 09:02:07 pm

This blog post is useful for me and it explained the face mask important and usage. And we're the one of the face mask manufactured and supplier in India. All kinds of face mask Available like in Kids face mask, N95 Face mask, Tripple Layer, Cotton Mask, Double Layer Face Masks, etc...



For more details visit at <a href="https://cottoncart.in/">CottonCart.in</a>

Reply
cottoncart link
9/10/2020 09:09:26 pm

This blog post is useful for me and it explained the face mask important and usage. And we're the one of the face mask manufactured and supplier in India. All kinds of face mask Available like in Kids face mask, N95 Face mask, Tripple Layer, Cotton Mask, Double Layer Face Masks, etc...



For more details visit at <a href="https://cottoncart.in/">CottonCart.in</a>

Reply
my real chemistry link
11/2/2020 03:00:53 am

very well written article and thanks for publishing this news about 3D masks with everyone.

Reply



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