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Thread: High tech masks are coming

  1. #1
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    High tech masks are coming

    I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that masks are going to be with us for a very long time. Not as a mandate but a socially acceptable choice.

    Given that, it’s only natural that entrepreneurs will step into the mask space and try to make money.
    check this out:
    https://www.civility-mask.com/

    If I was those guys, I would be sending a case to every nfl team in the playoffs.

  2. #2
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    Trouble with those are the air vents, which make wearing a mask meaningless.

  3. #3
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    There is an XPrize contest for mask design - https://www.xprize.org/challenge/nextgenmask

    I think the winner was to be announced at EOY 2020 but I don't see it on the site.
    Brian

    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Myk Rian View Post
    Trouble with those are the air vents, which make wearing a mask meaningless.
    Their website says no valves, so those must be filters or something.

    Still with it in crowd funding state, or maybe just after, I'm not sure I'm ready to bank on it yet. (Or on the longer term availability of replacement filters.)

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Myk Rian View Post
    Trouble with those are the air vents, which make wearing a mask meaningless.
    Those are filters, not valves.

    I don't see why this design has attracted a lot of initial orders. It looks like a CPAP mask without a hose. It looks so big and bulky.

  6. #6
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    The filters appear to just be a round circle of filter cloth so you could make your own.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Elfert View Post
    The filters appear to just be a round circle of filter cloth so you could make your own.
    I'd hope better than homemade filters would be available, say at least N95 equivalent.

    I would love something that was more comfortable, more protective, readily available, and not disposable to become available. Not sure this is what I'm hoping for, but, if not, at least it is someone trying.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Bassett View Post
    I'd hope better than homemade filters would be available, say at least N95 equivalent.
    The homemade filters thing was just a response to what happens if the company goes under so filters are no longer available. It would almost certainly be better to buy commercially made filters.

    I notice the manufacturer doesn't really say a whole lot about the filter efficiency. I assume to claim N95 you have to have testing done.

  9. #9
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    I noted several things. They claim the mask is certified, but don't say to what standard or by whom. The filters are proprietary so you are stuck buying them from the factory for an additional 10 euros per month.

    Here is more information on the filters:
    CIVILITY UNS1 disposable filters have :
    - a filtration rate at 3µm: 100%.
    - a filtration rate at 1µm: 100%.
    - high permeability at 100 Pa: 1040 (L./m-2.s-1)
    - a maximum usage time of 8 hours
    - a recommended duration of 4 hours
    - 60 filters: 100% polyester
    - a single use

    CIVILITY UNS1 washable filters have :
    - a filtration rate at 3µm: 97%.
    - a filtration rate at 1µm: 96%.
    - high permeability at 100 Pa: 910 (L./m-2.s-1)
    - a maximum usage time of 8 hours
    - a recommended duration of 4 hours
    - 20 filters: 100% polyester
    - washable 10 times : 30min in the washing machine at 140°F, dry it and iron it (230°F)
    Lee Schierer
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Elfert View Post
    ... I assume to claim N95 you have to have testing done.
    Yes. There is a long list of specifications, not just related to what the filter will pass, but mask fit, exhale resistance, flow rate, and more. I'm not sure if they need to be tested by independent labs though. KN95 has approximately the same specs, a little tighter here and a little looser there, and is the Chinese spec. Someone posted a table with those two and the Japanese, European, and maybe a couple other standards. If I had a factory, I'd want to meet the commonality of all those specs and then it'd just be labeling as to which market you could sell into.

    An example of not meeting the full spec is the RZ Mask filters. They publish their own test data and claim it's equivalent and we seem to mostly trust them. (They've told me, and others, they are working on getting the official certification. But given it's been years and still no certification, I can't believe they really are worried about it.)

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    ... Here is more information on the filters...
    Thanks Lee! (Now if only I really understood what that meant to me in practice. I do understand proprietary and that's a minus though.)

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Bassett View Post
    Still with it in crowd funding state, or maybe just after, I'm not sure I'm ready to bank on it yet. (Or on the longer term availability of replacement filters.)
    It's made in France, which I suspect will make it a non-starter in some demographics.
    Yoga class makes me feel like a total stud, mostly because I'm about as flexible as a 2x4.
    "Design"? Possibly. "Intelligent"? Sure doesn't look like it from this angle.
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  13. #13
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    2 small filters might be very restrictive if they're N95. Won't they fog up?

    A comfortable, effective and attractive mask design is a challenge. I like KN95 masks. They're protective and low cost.
    Last edited by Andrew Joiner; 01-04-2021 at 9:58 PM.
    "Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t - you’re right."
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  14. #14
    google 'virus/germ killing mask', lots of ideas in play...
    ========================================
    ELEVEN - rotary cutter tool machines
    FOUR - CO2 lasers
    THREE- make that FOUR now - fiber lasers
    ONE - vinyl cutter
    CASmate, Corel, Gravostyle


  15. #15
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    If it is made in France many will think it is fashionable.
    Bill D.
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