Mask Ear Strap Relief Harness (MESRH)

There has been a big response my makers designing and 3D printing various tools to help everyone in these trying times. One such endeavor has been the multitude of devices to help relieve the stress that mask straps put on the ears of those that have to wear masks continually. This harness is designed to address some of the issues that many of these mask strap devices have, namely: limited adjust ability, support above and below the ear, and comfort.

The Mask Ear Strap Relief Harness (MESRH, pronounced like: "measure") is intended to address the issues I found with the mask strap relief tool that were available. After providing various designs to my family and friends working in the medical field and listening to their feedback we determined that a new design was need. If you would like to try this out the components you will need to assemble a MERSH are 2 MESRH models and some MESRH_Straps. The v1 and v2 MESRH models have Right and Left variant but the v3 and v4 are symmetric so it can be used on both sides. The straps needed will depend on the size of your head so I've included a couple versions of the designs and lengths of straps. For me two of the MESRH_Strap_16 connected with a MESRH_Link work for going over the top of my head and a MESRH_Strap_22 for going around the back. I have included various lengths in case your printer built plate is too small for these lengths or if you need slightly longer straps. The straps are also notched so that they can be easily shortened as needed. Each strap link is close to 1cm so the number of links in a strap gives you an idea of its length. 

I've found that if you assemble the harness with the strap tabs inward(next to your head) instead of pointing outward(like in the pictures) it stays together a little better.

I would love to hear how this works for you and if there are any improvements that can be made!

Print Settings

Printer Brand:

MakerBot

Printer: 

MakerBot Replicator 2

Rafts:

No

Supports: 

No

Resolution:

.3mm

Infill: 

100

Filament: HatchBox PLA 
 

Notes:

These are the settings I use with a .4mm nozzle. I also use a shell count of 5. I can print these with no support but there are small sections that are unsupported in the design. If these fail to bridge properly support may be needed.