With 3Dsimo's range of 3D-sculpting pens, you can make your own face mask and shield in no time.

With the desperate short supply of face masks and shields for the general public, you might be looking for ways to make your own. With amazing tools like those developed by 3Dsimo, you can actually create some pretty solid facial protection quite easily. 

3D sculpting tools

3Dsimo is a new kid on the block in the 3D printing technology scene. It has developed a series of innovative, and easy-to-use 3D sculpting tools that you can pick up and use without spending hours learning to master a 3D printer.

3Dsimo is on a mission to create the next 21st century smart, compact tools and to encourage and inspire the creators of the future. Using a variety of thermoplastic materials, 3Dsimo's products provide endless ways to create whatever your imagination conjures up.

According to the company's founder David Paškevič, its vision is to bring this amazing technology to the masses. 

“What matters to us is the quality of our products, as well as the usability of our products in everyday life. At the same time, we are modernising workshop equipment to the 21st century,”

“Users can easily switch out attachments and the device will automatically register which one you’re using. Then, you can set the speed of extrusion, temperature, and material. Not only that, but you can use any 3D printer material on the market,” he says. 

Can you use 3Dsimo to make things like face masks and shields?

With the current problems of supply for basic facial protection during the current COVID-19 pandemic in many areas of the world, you might be wondering if there is an easy way to fashion your own. With 3Dsimo's amazing range of products, it turns out you can make your own relatively easy.

Here is how to make a face mask and face shield using 3Dsimo products

In order to make your own face mask using 3Dsimo's range of products, all you need is to source a suitable piece of cloth. This can be anything, but old T-shirts, kitchen towel or any other piece of cloth will do.

Next measure the cloth to the size needed and grab 3Dsimo's Multipro Soldering or Burning attachment. Use them to cut out a shape that resembles a H-shape with the cross-bar being roughly square-shaped. 

The finished shape should look something like this, Source: 3Dsimo

These tools will cut the cloth with ease and avoid creating frayed edges that can seriously reduce the cloth's durability over the long term.

Next, you'll create pleats in the main portion of the mask to ensure a comfy fit that curves around your face. To do this, make folds every 2.5cm or so and secure in place using blobs of filament from 3Dsimo's Multipro pen.

Add pleats every 2.5 cm or so and fix in place with some filament, Source: 3Dsimo

The final step is to tie the side strips (arms of the H) behind your eyes so the mask fits securely to your face. 

Now for the face shield...

To make a face shield is a little more complex, but you can check out the full walkthrough from 3Dsimo here. You can also watch its handy tutorial video here. 

That being said, with a little patience, and a steady hand, you can give it a go for yourself. Essentially you will need to 3D sculpt two thick arches to fit around your forehead and affix the main shield to.

This is roughly what the arches should look like. Note the nobs on the front, Source: 3Dsimo

One arch should fit comfortably around your forehead, while the second should be slightly larger to hold the face shield away from your face.

You can smooth down the surfaces using 3Dsimo Multipro's Burning attachment. You will also want to add a few nobs to the larger arch to attach the shield to later. 

The main shield is made using a piece of laminating film that you can find in any good office supply store. Cut the film to size using the Multipro's Soldering attachment – this will help it keep its rigidity. 

Burn holes using 3Dsimo's soldering attachment. Source: 3Dsimo

Now make holes in it using the soldering tool to match the nob spacing you created earlier. Next, attach the film to the larger arch and make sure the shield is held firmly in place. 

You can also 3D sculpt another little arch to attach to the base of the shield for added stability. Finally, add an elastic band to the rear to keep the shield attached firmly to your head. 

Job, done. 

Here are the finished items, Source: 3Dsimo

How about making a respirator using 3Dsimo products?

If you fancy turning your hand to making your own 3Dsimo respirator, here is a nice simple way to do it. Like the face shield above, this one is a little more advanced so it might be easier to follow the following handy video.

Essentially you'll need to 3D draw some of the main components like the mouthpiece, filter holder, and the divider. The mouthpiece itself should fit snuggly to your face so this might take a little trial and error.

This is because you want any inhaled air to flow through the filter, not around the sides of the mask. The divider piece will separate your face from the filter once assembled and needs to have holes in to allow air to flow through it. 

The filter holder's design and size are up to you, but it will need to attach to the rest of the assembly. You can use things like plastic foam and a piece of a surgeon's mask as the filter material. 

This is what the pieces should look like pre-assemble, Source: 3Dsimo

Cutting these is made a breeze using 3Dsimo's Multipro Soldering or Burning attachment. Once all pieces are complete simply assemble.

Hey presto, you now have your very own respirator!

Perhaps you'd like to make an Iron Man-themed respirator instead?

If you really want to take your 3D sculpting skills to the next level, you could consider making an Iron Man-themed mask. Not only does this mask look amazing, but it also includes magnetic attachments, so the main faceplate can be removed and re-attached with ease. 

The build starts with a rough skeleton of the mask's main component part's shape followed by more detailed work to complete the shape and main features. The final helmet consists of several parts including the 'face', jaw, segmented main helmet, and 'ears'."

The eye lenses are cut from a piece of plastic sheet and heat-sealed to the inside of the faceplate's eye holes using 3Dsimo's soldering attachment. With all this complete, each component is spray-painted in red or gold to match the colors of Iron Man's iconic helmet. 

The entire build used more than 600 metres of filament and was completed in about 64 hours. But, as you can see from the final product, the investment in materials and time were certainly worthwhile. 

And so, if you fancy creating your own face mask or face shield protection in these troubled times, check out 3Dsimo Multipro and accessories for further information.

This article was written by Christopher McFadden and was first published in InterestingEngineering here.