Week 4 - Completed Mask Prototype Reflection

COMPLETED MASK PROTOTYPE

The purpose of this final project post is to bring together all of the ideas and developments I've made while working through this mask as well as displaying and explaining my final design and possible future actions/improvement.

Assignment plot - inhibiting or enhancing a sense though a mask while being design conscious.

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Modeling & Development

To the left you can see two screen captures of the 3d modeled version of my mask that I have worked with further to make organic forms to better fit and adjust to a variety of shapes and faces maintaining comfort. The center elongated pill shaped container, like the two contact pads, are beveled and curved slightly with ergonomics in mind to aid in wearing on the face. For this model I simply have a tube representation where the articulating arms I intend to create will be present. These articulating arm were designed to be made of stacked (flat) wire coated in a softer material so as to not irritate the skin and prevent allergic reactions. This modeled tube is also blocking the view of the holes I designed for the arms to fit and be fixed inside. All these aspects are intended to aid in the wearers comfort while adorning this CPAP-like based smell respirator while minimizing its visual appearance. To help avoid direct contact with whatever smell substance is put inside of the center pill shaped piece I added a grate to the outside essentially capping the container preventing further complications but allowing a large amount of vapor or smell to escape. One these pieces are 3d printed I will add additional aspects to aid in the contact points and help the articulating joints hold.

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Final Prototype

My final prototype is comprised of four black PLA 3D printed pieces, two articulating arms made of wire contained by sewn sleeves of medical fabric, an elastic band in the back ( I added this because otherwise it slowly slides off the face ),  and some specific dots of hot glue for contact points on the face. Everything is held together by super glue however I feel with a little tweaking this could be avoided. I am satisfied with how it fits the face and how easily adjustable it is. It functions well and if I revisit it the first things I would be to add functions to the cheek 3d printed piece, add a permanent hinge for the grate, smoothen out the transition between materials between the articulating arms and printed parts, and add a tightening function to the elastic band in the back
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This is the last of four blog posts revolving around the Mask Project.
Thanks for reading. Peace!