Anyone who’s worn a face mask for a long time knows the discomfort they can cause, especially behind your ears. Of course, if you’re only going out to get groceries or something like that, then you don’t have to wear it long enough to notice the pain. But some people, like medical workers, must keep their mask on for several hours.
To help these people, Chinese 3D-printer manufacturer Creality designed and made a plastic buckle with small bars at the ends that hold the elastic behind the person’s head, relieving the pressure behind their ears. Thanks to the ingenious creation, people wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for an extended period – a crucial part of how front-line medical workers protect themselves from contracting coronavirus – aren’t in pain anymore.
Creality senior designer Guoliang Ji said:
Seeing that doctors and nurses in the reports were suffering great physical pain on face and ears caused by face masks, I started thinking about what could help them relieve some discomfort. By taking advantage of the 3D printing that I am good at, I want to offer medics some help.
Ji got his inspiration to create the simple buckle design from analyzing packaging handles.
One Creality Ender-3 3D printer can print five buckles at once in an hour. Since the Shenzhen-based company began printing on February 21st, 2020, it has manufactured thousands of buckles and donated them all to hospitals around China.
It began the initiative after seeing pictures online of medical workers with cuts on their faces from long shifts of wearing goggles, masks, and other protective gear. Until March 4th, it ran 100 3D printers daily for ten hours straight, manufacturing 1,600 pieces a day. In all, 9,800 buckles were donated to two hospitals in Shenzhen, one in Wuhan, as well as to other organizations and families in China.
Creality has even uploaded the buckle design free to download so that anyone with a 3D printer can do as they have done – or just print some buckles for their friends and family. CLICK HERE for the free download.
