DIY PAPR from a Dinosaur Costume Blower

thingiverse

PAPRs offer the most protection, even if they are more difficult to produce and it means producing fewer, the fewer units can provide more effective protection, where it counts. Positive pressure filtration means less requirement for fit and seal, in fact commercial units do not seal, they vent positive pressure and exhalation. This means not only reduced operator fatigue, but also better protection and less mask chaffing and bruising. Commercial units generally start at $600 and up. This improvised unit is designed to use a $9 dinosaur costume blower to draw air through a commercial off the shelf respirator filter, and pressurize a hood made out of homewrap tyvek with a clear face shield made from a document cover. I have another model I am working on to 3d-print the entire blower, but it needs some refinement and it does not perform as well as the dinosaur blower yet. I included the remix of the 3M bayonet filter mount by waagstrom on thingiverse. All I did to modify it was extrude a hole through the center in tinkercad in order to remove the exhalation flap valve support in the center. The hood and hood support are still a work in progress PAPR2-Gaskets is a pattern for a gasket that can be cut out from 1/8in craft foam or rubber gasket material. I was using the rings in the center as a stack of flex-couplers for the motor shaft