Description

https://www.nemotech.com/sani-mask The Sani-Mask is the result of researchers at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Bioscience and 3D print and engineering company Nemotech LLC. The researchers discovered that a 3d printed polypropylene object that utilized infill would grow bacteria when submerged in growth media, even after autoclaving. This lead them to develop a 3d printed n95 mask solution that utilized no infill, and was made only of surfaces via "vase mode" in polypropylene. They ran numerous sterilization tests by assaulting the mask with bacteria, then sterilizing, then submerging the masks in growth media for up to 72 hours. The results showed that all tested forms of sterilization were successful at elminating bacterial growth. The team tested methods as complex as autoclaving, and as simple as household bleach and water. All were effective. This led to two major discoveries: 1. 3D prints must be tested via submersion, rather than swabbing, to account for the presence of infill. 2. a sterilizable and reusable object can be manufactured on a consumer level FDM printer if made with polypropylene filament via "vase" mode, with no top and bottom layers. The side benefit of this is that the sani-mask prints nearly 1000% faster than other designs, printing in 30 minutes or less. The research and files have been made available at nemotech3d.com/sani-mask