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Design and AM of a medical face shield
PPE that could endanger HW worldwide; therefore, with due consideration to professional and
announced a call for increased manufacture of face ergonomic product design principles, and design
shield by 40 % to meet the rising global demand for for AM (DfAM) approaches. A design can be
this type of PPE . Based on WHO modeling, an functional and may correspond to the needs within
[11]
estimated 89 million medical masks are required pre-defined design specifications; however, this
for tackling COVID-19 each month . About may not indicate that the design has structurally
[11]
76 million of examination gloves are required, and and functionally optimized features. For most of
the international demand for goggles (including face the designs generated, it was not known where
shield equipment) now stands at 1.6 million/month. or how they were approved. These designs also
In the face of this high demand for PPE have relatively longer production and component
(specifically for face shield equipment), visors assembly times per unit product (more than 4 – 5
that are commercially produced by conventional production hours; about 2 h in average), and some
manufacturing methods (mostly plastic injection of the products are heavier considering their
molding) could be supplied on time, and the custom designs. Besides, most of them, which
high demand for this PPE has raised the unit are equipped with additional components such as
product costs and the shipping rate. Conversely, elastic bands, softening materials, and fastening
this situation strengthens our social solidarity to clips could cause user discomfort after using for
address the issues pertaining to this pandemic. long working hours and constant taking on/off
Many educational and government institutions, operations. These facts appear as disadvantages
commercial and noncommercial organizations, for a product within the context of ergonomics
and home/individual makers produced face and total AM-based production time. In addition,
shield products (not mass/serial production) and from a post-prototyping perspective, most of these
shipped/donated them to personal-public users products do not have convenient structural design
and health-care sectors. In many cases, additive features that are amenable for commercial mass/
manufacturing (AM) technology was utilized for serial production using conventional manufacturing
their prototype designs as it is the fastest way to methods such as plastic injection molding.
obtain a usable product/prototype. The use of this Therefore, a lighter, more ergonomic, and single
manufacturing technology with easily accessible frame medical face shield without extra components
relatively professional (trademarks) and original for assembly would be useful for homemakers,
equipment manufacturer (OEM) 3D printers has individual designers/makers, and noncommercial
become very popular and is productive enough to producers (primary target) to provide effective,
meet the high demand for PPE. functional rapid-prototyped products, which may
A face shield (visor) product has simple have a commercial potential (secondary target)
structural and functional design features, which in a relatively shorter time. The disadvantages of
consist of two main components: The frame the current PPE manufacturing method were the
(metal- or plastic material-based) and the main sources of motivation for this design study as
transparent protective visor shield (mostly plastic the product designs are dynamic, and can be seen
material-based). However, additional components changing stages on an existing product over time,
such as elastic bands (frame-head holder), face in shape and function. These changing stages can
contact softening materials (sponge, foam, rubber, be in different range and sudden, others move step
etc.), and clips for fastening the transparent shield by step. In any case, the major aim of the change
to the frame can also be included. is to improve the design, to make the product more
Various concept designs for face shield effective or, put simply, just more appropriate for
products generated by AM for rapid prototyping/ use in the current pandemic (i.e., low-cost, quick to
manufacturing have been introduced in addition to produce, and disposable).
commercially existing ones (Figure 1). However, Considering the afore-mentioned specific
most of these products were not carefully designed product design issues, the aim of the current study

32 International Journal of Bioprinting (2020)–Volume 6, Issue 4