Possible plastics for face sheild

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Hi fellow Glowforge’s I am working on thesis project in Canada…using my 3D printer to print the headbands for face shields as a result of coved-19. The files in this link also include the dog to cut the clear plastic bit- spec’d out of petg.

Health Canada has approved this design…btw.

Is there a commercial name for petg? Or is acetate cuttable - we are locking down later in the day today so I’m trying to find out if this is a staples thing, I Michael’s thing or a specialty plastic supplier. - also is anyone know cut settings for this stuff that would be helpful

Files are available here for anyone the help their community

https://www.inksmith.ca/blogs/news/can-you-3d-print-this-file

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I’d recommend using clear mylar for the face shields. You’d need to research/test thickness to see what would meet your minimum needs for stiffness. (Even 6 mil will block all liquid and germ transmission though, and can be reused if washed or sanitized. But you can buy up to 14 mil mylar in 12 x 12 sheets on Amazon. For now.) UV light would work best to sanitize.

Problem you are going to run into is… I believe most manufactured mylar is sourced from China and they might not be shipping components to the US right now due to political differences of opinion. Not sure if Canada has the same problem. So you might have trouble with sourcing it in larger quantities long term.

Mylar is laser cuttable, but if you want to turn the shields out in large enough quantities to do any good, you’ll want to look into having a die made and stamp them. Larger up front cost, but it’s going to be light years faster than using a laser to cut the shields.

And good luck with your thesis. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Check out this thread if you haven’t:

You can get on Slack at the link below, and in the Canada channel there is some info on sourcing plastic for face shields.
https://join.slack.com/t/prusafaceshields/shared_invite/zt-cz809azp-f41jGEYZivRKWH6IcYEmKw

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You can purchase PETG clear sheet in the US rather easily. I found 0.020 thickness on Amazon very easily.

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I think my makerspace is using clear transparency film. Pretty easy to find.

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Haven’t seen any of that in 10 years at least. Even the school my wife works in got rid of overhead projectors about then - went to Smartboards and laptop projectors.

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I’m outside of toronto … source I need a source here. Petg over acetate has been approved by health Canada because of its resistance to chemicals so this is really what I have to get

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You obviously haven’t been looking. :slight_smile: It’s still readily available in office supply stores and online. I’ve got a couple of boxes here for crafting purposes.

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Well that’s true. Hasn’t crossed my mind for a decade :smiley:

I wonder what other old tech remnants are still out there for sale. And what they might be used for now. Hmmm…

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If they’re anything like where I work there’s a stack of a dozen unopened boxes of transparencies in their supply closet. :slight_smile:

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Mine were pretty dusty to be fair

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Hi - acetate i cuttable - I have been using my glowforge to cut the visor for the prints we are making on our 3D printer…I contacted inksmith- they say the acetate is good

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Schools are being stripped of their overhead projector sheets

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They shouldn’t need overhead projector sheets. :slight_smile:

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They still sell overhead projector machines in office supply stores, even Best Buy.

Although, of course, schools are closed, so they won’t be needing them for now.

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Schools aren’t the only places that use overhead projectors. Even crafters use them.

There is much better technology available that ties into all the other tech in the schools, so my comment was suggesting that they SHOULD have moved past projector machines by now, not that they have.

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