Mask with integrated face shield or how to show mouth expression despite corona and the obligation to protect the mouth/nose...
Masks are a helpful tool to prevent the spreading of viruses such as SARS-CoV 2 and should be worn by as many people as possible within the given regulations. Unfortunately, however, they also prevent the perception of the most important facial expressions of people, so that it is currently much more difficult to simply give a smile.
The alternative to this are face shields (FaceShields), which actually only help against spitting / direct drip transmission and filter only a small amount of moisture from the air. They are certainly better than nothing, but less effective than masks in this aspect. The big advantage is, of course, that they are mostly transparent and allow a view of a person’s face and facial expressions.
So I thought about it: Is it possible to combine both?
Here is my first result on this: Yes you can! A closed mask with a transparent plastic shield in front of the mouth and a mask-like breathing hole at the nose secured with a coffee filter.
As always, I used Hash Animation:Master, my MakerBot with MakerWare and PLA for printing.
In addition, there is a quite thick, stable and transparent sealing foil from the hardware store and rubber bands from the grocery store:
