Mass production of re-usable surgical and N95 style face masks made from Polyurethane foam

Urofoam Ltd在过去30年中一直在英国生产技术聚氨酯产品。我们是大规模生产模塑泡沫部件的专家，服务于体育、汽车、航空航天、石油和医疗等行业。由于新冠肺炎的影响，我们专注于开发可清洗和可重复使用的口罩，以帮助解决国家供应短缺的问题。该款口罩的性能与现时市面上的口罩相当，可于一个月内开始生产，并可大量生产。该款口罩是由一种可让空气双向流动的聚亚安酯泡沫塑料制成，其设计可过滤佩戴者及周围空气中的飞沫。因为它是可清洗和可重复使用的，它被设计用于亚临床医疗保健领域，如医院清洁工，搬运工，辅助人员，护理人员。它不是为亲密的医疗接触而设计的，在这种情况下，一次性使用的、用于焚烧的口罩是最合适的。目前的口罩使用聚酯纤维或木浆纤维生产，从供应链的角度来看，每种纤维都有局限性。我们的聚氨酯口罩几乎所有材料都来自英国，其余来自德国。作为成型工艺的一部分，我们还可以加入抗病毒和抗菌化合物，以限制传播风险。我们的目标是将4条批量生产线中的3条转化为生产口罩，初期产量超过每周20，000个。

Urofoam Ltd has been manufacturing technical polyurethane products in the UK for the past 30 years. We are specialists in mass-produced moulded foam components, servicing industries such as; sports, automotive, aerospace, oil and medical.As a result of the impact of Covid-19, we have focused our attention on developing a washable and reusable face mask to help meet the nation's shortfall in supply. The mask will have performance characteristics comparable to those in the market at the moment, can begin production within a month and can be mass-produced.The face mask is made from a moulded polyurethane foam which allows air to flow both ways and is designed to filter airborne droplets from both the wearer and the surrounding area. Because it is washable and reusable it is designed to be used in sub-clinical healthcare areas such as hospital cleaners, porters, ancillary staff, care workers. It is not designed for intimate healthcare contact where single-use, disposable masks destined for incineration would be most appropriate.Current masks are produced using either polyester or wood pulp fibres, each having limitations from a supply chain perspective. Our polyurethane mask sources almost all materials from the UK, with the remainder coming from Germany. As part of the moulding process, we can also incorporate antiviral and antimicrobial compounds which limit the risk of transmission.Our intention is to convert 3 of our 4 volume production lines to produce masks, with an initial output in excess of 20,000 units per week.