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Updated guide for V2.2 (March 31st, 2020) (also applies to V2.5)
Our version of the face shield is tool-free and is made out of 4 parts. TPU filament, top holder, and a PETG sheet. The assembly can be done by anyone in under 1 minute. The PETG sheet can be removed to be wiped clean using a virus wipe and inserted into a new or sanitized holder.
(V2.2)
It improves on some of the face shield out there in a few ways:
FAQ
Print Settings - Applied to FFF printers only
Beginner users
We recommend using the default settings on your slicer with thicker layer slices to improve on speed. You can turn infill % down to 0. Print times will vary but at default settings we see around 1.5 - 2.5 hours.
Advanced users
For a good mix between quality and speed we've set our extrusion width to 0.4mm exactly. A thicker line width will increase speed a bit but not by much. We print our shield at 0.25mm layer height, with no infill and no gap filling. Our wall thickness is set to 3 walls so the clamp part is stiffer. It's also good to increase your printing temperature by 5-10 degrees because we're squeezing more material per second.
In summary:
This brings printing time down to about 1.5 hours per mask
Expert users (also known as 3D printing gurus or just crazy people!)
We got our times down to 1.5 hours and realized we can't be at the shop 24/7 to keep taking parts off the plate and starting new jobs. So we decided to stack parts vertically on top of each other. If you don't trust your 3D printer, we don't recommend this. Here's what you need to do.
Step 1. Open up your slicer and duplicate a certain amount of copies that make sense for your schedule.
Step 2: Aligning the models and stack in the z-direction with some gap
The X/Y coordinates of your part should be exactly the same and the only value that should change is the Z position. The model here is 10mm tall and our chosen z-gap is set to our layer height, in this case 0.2mm; we found that gives us good adhesion to the part below and allows for relatively easy removal. With this in mind here are the coordinates for the parts bottom to top (X, Y, Z):
In general, the formula is: (10mm + z-gap)*(part # - 1)
Part 1: [0, 0, (10mm + 0.2mm)*(1-1)] -> [0, 0, 0]
Part 2: [0, 0, (10mm + 0.2mm)*(2-1)] -> [0, 0, 10.2mm]
Part 3: [0, 0, 20.4]
Part 4: [0, 0, 30.6]
Part 5: [0, 0, 40.8]
Part 6: [0, 0, 51.0]
Step 3: There's a portion in the model when stacking that will be hovering in the air. We need to enable tree supports and block supports from being generated everywhere else.
Use the support blocker function in Cura to place a couple of cubes and then resize and place them on the edges of the visor as seen in the pictures below:
Then go ahead and enable tree supports to get this slice preview:
With this formation the printing time is about 10 hours. It's probably better to add a few more in there and hit some where around a 16-24 hour cycle time to set this up every morning or night.
There's also a way to stack these in alternating order to avoid supports. This allows us to print without tree supports but makes printing a bit unreliable depending on your printer. Make sure to test well so you don't waste filament.
Here's an example of the visor stacked in alternating order:
Donors and Support Acknowledgement:
Disclaimer:
Our intention for these face masks is to provide community support to fellow Canadians in the most dire need. We are operating under the assumption that this may not be the best way but slightly better than going through the most desperate times without having any PPE at all.
We do not recommend this for high risk medical procedures and should not be a substitute for proper medical PPE. Please consider deploying this only for low risk situations.
Shop3D is not after any financial gain and if you choose to use the product, we are not providing any guarantees on the product function. Buyers agree to release Shop3D and all crowd-sourced members and donors of all liabilities. If this arrangement does not suit you, please do not order any shields.
