This is a DIY machine designed to automate production of surgical masks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's been developed at Artisan's Asylum, a non-profit makerspace in Somerville MA.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1f9kQa7CfHjxCt7pXuYfcXqoJsbgZdR7Z
Goal: Design an open source machine to automate production of surgical masks which approach or reach the ASTM-F2100-19 standard in response to COVID-19.
Strategy: This machine will be broken up into modules. Modular design allows for development flexibility and redundancy. It also allows production to begin with temporary manual labor while development is completed. This will additionally allow for flexibility in deployment when different tools and materials must be used. This machine must be deployed yesterday in order to meet the needs of the medical community.
Design Criteria:
- Do not try to exactly reproduce surgical masks - it is impractical to meet the quality afforded by an industrial process.
- Consider the 80/20 rule: If an 80% solution is viable in a significant fraction of use cases, we can get away with doing only 20% of the work.
- Use commodity hardware.
- Preference is given to components likely to be stocked in a well equipped shop.
Module Requirements:
- Non woven material infeed
- Should be spring loaded to provide back pressure
- Adjustments for position and tracking
- Pleat former
- Form 3 evenly spaced 12mm pleats
- Symetric folding to minimize binding and tracking issues.
- Pleat Flattener
- Nose clip infeed
- Edge folder
- Transverse heat sealer
- Transverse cutter
- Ear loop attachment
- Top and bottom seal
- Motor drive
- (optional) binning/stacking
Module Development:
- Non woven material infeed
- Welder spool mechanisms
- Pleat former
- Mold former
- Laser Cut Fin former
- Internal former
- Twisted right angle former
- Rolling Pleat Former
- Pleat Flattener
- Wrap tightly around drums
- Press between brayer rollers
- Flatten between sheets of acrylic
- Nose clip infeed
- Continuous, built into upper edge folder
- Cut to length and placed manually
- Edge folder
- 3D printed black box
- Transverse heat sealer
- Guillotine style impulse sealer
- Transverse cutter
- Guillotine paper cutter
- Rotary cutter
- Ear loop attachment
- Platten on drawer slides
- (optional?) Top and bottom seal
- Impulse sealers
Major Considerations:
- Material Sourcing
- Clean environment for production
- Symptom monitoring for assembly workers
(In progress) Resources: Forums Patents Engineering Standards Reference Videos (commercial lines) Material Vendors