Page 6 - ILK Research Report 2020

The Year 2020

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recyclable face shields
in record time
from design to product

Within just three days, engineers and students from the
Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Tech-
nology at TU Dresden, together with the research asso-
ciation DRESDEN-concept e. V. and biosaxony e. V., the
charity Kunststoffschmiede* and the company 1st Mould
GmbH, have realized a mount for face shields from design
to finished product. The component is manufactured by
injection molding and can thus be produced in a signifi-
cantly higher number of units than previously comparable
3D-printed solutions.
© Kunststoffschmiede im Konglomerat e. V.

© Kunststoffschmiede im Konglomerat e. V.

that could be achieved using the 3D printing process. ILK
employees therefore brought up the idea of an injection
molding process that could increase the production of ur-
gently needed face shields many times over. Within only
three days, a design suitable for injection molding could
be developed together with Kunststoffschmiede* and 1st
Mould GmbH and was implemented as a real component
with a very high quantity of currently approx. 35,000 pieces.
The special concern of Kunststoffschmiede* is that with
the solution developed, recycled plastic waste can also be
used to manufacture the face shields. The closed material
cycle achieved in this way not only protects the environ-
ment, but is also very resource-efficient.

The data for the production of the injection-molded com-
ponents was deliberately made open source by the part-
© Kunststoffschmiede im Konglomerat e. V. ners involved so that other facilities and companies can
also start production and thus contribute to meeting de-
Following the first reports of demand for medical protec- mand. Interested facilities can download the data from
tive equipment from the Dresden clinics, a design was de- the following link and use it for their production: https://
veloped for a face shield, which was initially implemented github.com/Kunststoffschmiede/Kuss-Faceshield-Frame/
using the 3D printing process and made available to the wiki/Injection-moulding.
medical staff for testing. However, the subsequent sharp
increase in demand could not be met with the quantities * Kunststoffschmiede im Konglomerat e. V.

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