The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted life for all of us. However, the medical workers fighting for us on the frontline need so much help. We have created a face shield design that we have started manufacturing to help our invaluable medical workers.
Version 2–
This version is an upgrade on version 1. It is faster to manufacture, is semi-automated so that it can be made quickly, and it has a way to remove the front transparent plastic sheet from the head band so that it can be reused by sterilising it (suggested- bleach or aerodisin).
The foam headband can be kept by the user or discarded.
The lightweight foam design makes it comfortable to wear for the full day.
There are 3 basic materials- transparent plastic sheets (we have used A3 sized OHP sheets), foam, and elastic (we have used a non-latex version so that there are no chances of allergies).
Here is the drawing for the transparent plastic sheet cutting which was cut using an automated cutting machine with a die (can easily cut appx 500 pieces an hour)-
Here is the drawing for the foam cutting. This was also automated and we tried to save as much material as we could while making sure our product worked perfectly (can be mass manufactured depending on your supplier).
Holes were made at the ends of the foam pieces using a heated blade and the elastic was passed though it and tied to create a U shape. We used approximately 35 cm of elastic per shield.
Finally the holes and extrusions of the cut plastic sheet and foam band are matched, inserted and voila!
To remove the plastic sheet from the foam band, you just need to carefully rip it off.
Version 1-
This used the same cutting file for the transparent plastic sheet cutting as version 2 minus the holes. A simple foam strip is cut and the transparent sheets are pasted to the foam strip using industrial double tape. The foam is tied together using elastic like in version 2. This one isn’t as reusable as version 2. The user would need to keep and sterilize their own shield. Here is what it looks like.
Please feel free to replicate and manufacture these designs! We are facing major logistics problems so we are probably only going to manufacture and sell a certain quantity (hopefully 2500) in our own city (Pune). Our healthcare workers need us!