A face shield, an item of

personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elec ...

(PPE), aims to protect the wearer's entire

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

(or part of it) from

hazard A hazard is a potential source of harm Harm is a moral and legal concept. Bernard Gert construes harm as any of the following: * pain * death * disability * mortality * loss of abil ity or freedom * loss of pleasure. Joel Feinberg giv ...

s such as flying objects and

road debris Road debris, a form of road hazard, is debris on or off a road. Road debris includes substances, materials, and objects that are foreign to the normal roadway environment. Debris may be produced by vehicular or non-vehicular sources, but in all ...

, chemical splashes (in laboratories or in

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

), or potentially infectious materials (in

medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

and laboratory environments). Depending on the type used, a face shield may protect its wearer from a physical hazard, chemical splashes, or biological hazards.

Industry

A face shield is intended to protect the wearer's partial or entire face and the eyes from hazards. Face shields should be used with

spectacles Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples o ...

and/or

goggles Goggles, or safety glasses, are forms of protective eyewear that usually enclose or protect the area surrounding the eye in order to prevent particulates, water or chemicals from striking the eyes. They are used in chemistry laboratories and ...

Standards

;

ANSI The American National Standards Institute (ANSI ) is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organi ...

(American Standard) * Mark Z87: Basic impact: Faceshields shall be capable of resisting impact from a 25.4 mm (1 in) diameter steel ball dropped from a height of 127 cm (50 in). * Mark Z87+: High impact: Faceshields shall be capable of resisting impact from a 6.35 mm (0.25 in) diameter steel ball traveling at a velocity of 91.4 m/s (300 ft/s). ; EN 166 (European Standard) These shields are for protection against high-speed particles, and must withstand the impact of a 6 mm nominal diameter steel ball, striking the oculars and the lateral protection at the speed stated. * Mark A: 190 m/s. * Mark B: 120 m/s. * Mark F: 45 m/s. ** ref. EN166 ;

CSA CSA may refer to: Arts and media * Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television * Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics * Crime Syndicate of Amer ...

(Canadian Standard) Z94.3-15 ''Eye and Face Protectors'' Class 6 relates to face shields, and is divided into 3 sub-classes *6A – Impact, piercing, splash, head, and glare protection. *6B – Radiation protection. Also for low heat, splash, glare, and light non-piercing impact protection. *6C – High-heat applications and light non-piercing impact protection only. **ref. CSA Z94.3-15 See also

welding helmet A welding helmet is a type of personal protective equipment used in performing certain types of welding to protect the eyes, face, and neck from flash burn, sparks, infrared and ultraviolet light, and intense heat. The modern welding helmet used to ...

Materials

Polycarbonate Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, tough materials, and some grades are optically transparent. They are easily work ...

(PC) Provides excellent

impact resistance In materials science and metallurgy, toughness is the ability of a material to absorb energy and plastically deform without fracturing.heat resistance Thermal resistance is a heat property and a measurement of a temperature difference by which an object or material resists a heat flow. Thermal resistance is the reciprocal of thermal conductance. * (Absolute) thermal resistance ''R'' in kelvin ...

and normal

chemical resistance The chemical resistance of a material or surface can be determined in compliance with ISO 2812 Paints and varnishes – Determination of resistance to liquids – Part 1: Immersion in liquids other than water (ISO 2812-1:2007); German Version EN I ...

. *;

Cellulose acetate In biochemistry, cellulose acetate refers to any acetate ester of cellulose, usually cellulose diacetate. It was first prepared in 1865. A bioplastic, cellulose acetate is used as a film base in photography, as a component in some coatings, and ...

(CA) Provides normal impact resistance, optical quality, heat resistance and good chemical resistance.

Manufacturing

Two methods are used to manufacture face shields:

extrusion Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex c ...

and

injection molding Injection moulding (U.S. spelling: injection molding) is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material into a mould, or mold. Injection moulding can be performed with a host of materials mainly including metals (for ...

. Faceshields cut from extrusion sheets provide better

impact resistance In materials science and metallurgy, toughness is the ability of a material to absorb energy and plastically deform without fracturing.molecular weight A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioch ...

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

pellets while injection molding must use lower molecular weight plastic pellets, which provide better melt flowing property needed by injection molding. For example, even faceshields 0.8 mm thick made of extrusion

polycarbonate Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, tough materials, and some grades are optically transparent. They are easily work ...

sheets can withstand the impact of a 6 mm nominal diameter steel ball traveling at the speed 120 m/s (European standard, protection against high-speed particles – medium energy impact), while injection molding faceshields must have at least 1.5 mm thickness to withstand the same impact. But injection molding can provide more complicated shape than extrusion. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, people from 86 countries engaged in the voluntary production of PPE to supplement traditional supply chains - many of which had been interrupted. They collectively produced a total of 25 million face shields with techniques including

3D printing 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the Manufacturing, construction of a three-dimensional object from a computer-aided design, CAD model or a digital 3D modeling, 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is ...

Laser cutting Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser to vaporize materials, resulting in a cut edge. While typically used for industrial manufacturing applications, it is now used by schools, small businesses, architecture, and hobbyists. Laser cutt ...

Injection molding Injection moulding (U.S. spelling: injection molding) is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material into a mould, or mold. Injection moulding can be performed with a host of materials mainly including metals (for ...

. File:3D printing of face shields.jpg, 3D printing of face shields during COVID-19 pandemic File:Headpiece.stl, 3D file for printing a face shield File:Buckle.stl, Buckle for the face shield File:FaceShield3D20.jpg, Final shield

Medical

applications, "face shield" refers to a variety of devices used to protect a medical professional during a procedure that might expose them to

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

or other potentially infectious fluids. An example is the use of a

CPR mask A pocket mask, or pocket face mask or CPR mask, is a device used to safely deliver rescue breaths during a cardiac arrest or respiratory arrest. The specific term "Pocket Mask" is the trademarked name for the product manufactured by Laerdal M ...

while performing

rescue breathing Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, a form of artificial ventilation, is the act of assisting or stimulating respiration in which a rescuer presses their mouth against that of the victim and blows air into the person's lungs. Artificial respiration ta ...

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...

. Another example is the use of

to guard the face against exposure to potentially infectious materials.

Police and military

File:AssaultTraining2016-18.jpg, Russian paratrooper with a 6B47 helmet and ballistic face shield, alt= File:US Navy 060127-N-9641C-002 Chief Damage Controlman, John Brooks, removes the face shield from a Sailor^rsquo,s MCU-2-P gas mask.jpg, alt=text, Removing a face shield from a Sailor’s MCU-2/P gas mask after washing it with decontamination solution during a General Quarters Drill aboard an aircraft carrier In

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

environments, a face shield may be designed for ballistic or non-ballistic protection. The non-ballistic shield will provide no protection from projectiles shot from firearms, but is usually designed to withstand low velocity impacts, like caused by punches or thrown objects. A ballistic face shield is designed to stop or deflect blast and fragments from operators wearing

bomb suit A bomb suit, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) suit or a blast suit is a heavy suit of body armor designed to withstand the pressure generated by a bomb and any fragments the bomb may produce. It is usually worn by trained personnel attempting bo ...

s To protect the wearers eyes and face from ballistic threats in combat is envisioned in the

PEO Soldier Program Executive Office Soldier is a US Army organization that is responsible for rapid prototyping, procurement, and fielding of equipment for its soldiers. Development areas Project Manager Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment (PM SPIE) d ...

program for the United States Department of Defense.Ashok Bhatnagar: ''Lightweight Ballistic Composites: Military and Law-Enforcement Applications'', Woodhead Publishing, 2018, , pp. 396, 397

Usage in construction

On many construction sites many

workers The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic reg ...

use face shields to protect them from debris or sparks. Many tools for cutting and working with metal recommend the use of a face shield. Examples include welding equipment or metal chop saws.

References

External links

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Face Shield in India
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