GE Additive的一位高级设计工程师提出了一种非常廉价且简单的3D打印面罩，该面罩已在美国海军范围内采用，以保护其工作人员。面罩由3D打印框架组成，该框架装有一块过滤材料和松紧带。
A senior design engineer from GE Additive has come up with a remarkably low-cost and simple 3D printed face mask that has already been adopted across the U.S. Navy to protect its troops and personnel across the world. The mask consists of a 3D printed frame, which is fitted with a piece of filter material, such as cloth, and elastics.
马克·富勒（Mark Fuller）在通用电气添加剂公司（GE Additive）的日常工作中，为飞机，火箭和赛车设计零件。在家里，他对3D打印的热情持续存在，因为富勒提出了许多业余爱好者级别的3D打印设计，其中包括一个下载次数超过200万的微调器。面对COVID-19大流行，富勒着手设计一种易于打印，用途广泛且成本低廉的DIY口罩。
In his day job at GE Additive, Mark Fuller designs parts for aircraft, rockets and race cars. At home, his passion for 3D printing endures, as Fuller has come up with a number of hobbyist-grade 3D printing designs, including a fidget spinner with over two million downloads. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fuller set out to design a DIY face mask that was easy to print, versatile and low cost.
考虑到正在开发的各种口罩，富勒最终决定采用一种超简化的方法，其设计基于其他口罩模型的物理轮廓。这样的结果是用塑料制成细环，带有小的防滑钉，可将细绳或橡皮筋固定在面具上。戴在鼻子和嘴巴周围的可以与任何织物搭配用作过滤器。
Looking at the wide range of masks being developed, Fuller ultimately decided to go for an ultra-simplified approach, basing his design on the physical outline of other face mask models. The result of this was a thin ring made of plastic with small cleats to attach string or rubber bands to hold the mask in place. The ring, which fits around the wearer’s nose and mouth, can be fitted with any fabric to act as a filter.
他的设计的关键要素是，不仅可以轻松地进行3D打印，还可以使用更常规的工艺来生产。他解释说：“我设计的方式是，可以采用相同的芯，然后对其进行注塑成型或对它们进行激光切割。” “用于生产的机器可以用来挽救生命。”
A key element to his design is that not only can it be easily 3D printed, but it can also be produced using more conventional processes. “I designed it in a way that you can take the same core geometry and go and injection mold them or go and laser cut them,” he explained. “What machines are not being utilized for production today can be used to help save lives.”
他的3D打印口罩的第一个原型确实发生了一些变化，此前有一个Facebook小组致力于COVID-19的开源医疗设备的反馈，包括使鼻子区域更薄，使用更柔软的塑料。通过更新的设计，富勒继续在家中印刷口罩，并通过GE工作组提高了产量，并将其部署到当地医院。
The first prototype of his 3D printed mask did undergo some changes, following feedback from a Facebook group dedicated to open-source medical equipment for COVID-19, including making the nose area thinner and using more flexible plastic. With the updated design, Fuller continued to print the masks at home, and ramped up production through the GE Additive COVID-19 Task Force to be deployed to local hospitals.
3D打印口罩需要大约15分钟的打印时间，并使用价值约0.09美元的塑料。面罩还具有多种用途，因为可以使用任何类型的过滤材料，包括空调过滤器，手头上的任何织物，甚至纸巾。这种灵活性和快速部署的潜力使该面罩成为美国海军一个感兴趣的解决方案，美国海军正在寻求方法以在有限的军舰空间中保持水手的健康。
The 3D printed mask takes about 15 minutes to print and uses about $0.09 worth of plastic. The mask is also versatile, as any type of filter material can be used, including air conditioner filters, any fabric on hand or even paper towel in a pinch. This flexibility and potential for rapid deployment made the mask an interesting solution for the U.S. Navy, which was seeking ways to keep its sailors healthy in the confined spaces of warships.
通用电气已经在与美国海军合作，部署3D打印的面罩安全帽，但军事部门还需要在口罩。据报道，海军不想将N95口罩库存从医务人员手中夺走，因此非常希望看到富勒的设计。美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）也批准了该设计供社区使用，以预防冠状病毒。
GE had already been working with the U.S. Navy to deploy 3D printed face shield hard hats, but the military branch also needed masks to deploy around the world. Not wanting to take N95 mask stocks away from medical workers, the Navy was reportedly enthusiastic to see Fuller’s design. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) also approved the design for community use to protect against the coronavirus, which helped to spur the Navy’s interest.
“ GE面罩设计为我们提供了一种方法，可以在任何可用3D打印机的地方立即向水手和海军陆战队提供防护装备，包括我们的船只和潜艇以及我们的远征军，”增材制造集成公司的Liz McMichael说。美国海军项目组负责人。 “拥有能够为我们提供机会迅速响应这一紧急需求的设计真是太棒了。”
“The GE face mask design gives us a way to immediately provide protective gear to our sailors and Marines anywhere there is 3D printer available—including aboard our ships and submarines, as well as with our expeditionary forces,” said Liz McMichael, Additive Manufacturing Integrated Program Team Lead for the U.S. Navy. “It was fantastic to have a design that afforded us the opportunity to rapidly respond to this urgent fleet need.”
截至4月初，美国海军已经3D打印了数以万计的口罩，因此确定3D打印的框架最适合搭配四个橡皮筋和一个滤布。每个组件大约需要20分钟的生产时间，并安全地包装在塑料袋中。在日本，海军陆战队的团队开始每天印刷800个口罩，而马里兰州的一个海军基地则使用胶枪和空调过滤器来适应原始设计。
The U.S. Navy, which had already 3D printed tens of thousands of masks by early April, determined the 3D printed frame would be best fitted with four rubber bands and a cloth filter. Each assembly takes about 20 minutes to produce and is safely packaged in a plastic bag. In Japan, a Marine Corps team began printing 800 masks a day, while a naval base in Maryland used glue guns and air conditioner filters to adapt the original design. It does seem a bit touch and go for military use, but the important thing is that the masks can be put to use immediately, without lengthy development and production times.
