Design It, Print It, Wear It–Starting with 3D-Printed Face Masks for Kids

Here’s something you probably didn’t know: it’s hard to find a good protective face mask for kids.

We’re not talking about the hockey goalie kind, but rather the kind you put on to filter the air in polluted urban areas, or when exposed to toxic fumes from paint and such. Adult masks don’t fit kids’ faces, and the kids don’t tend to love the blah, industrial look of the masks designed for adults, either.

Enter the ’brifo,’ a new mask created by designer Bart Gaczorek using the Sinterit Lisa SLS desktop 3D printer and Autodesk Netfabb software. It’s lightweight, fits a range of child-sized faces snugly, and it’s got a Bane-on-a-good-day style that kids love. According to the folks at TCT Magazine:

“Gaczorek created internal lattice structures, slimming down the design, and allowing for a lightweight model without losing functionality or durability. . . . Netfabb not only made easier the creation of lattices, but its analysis features ensured problems were…

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