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, ...

(PPE), aims to protect the wearer's entire face (or part of it) from hazards 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 al ...

, chemical splashes (in laboratories or in industry), 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 practi ...

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 or ...

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 organ ...

(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 EN 166:2001 ''Personal Eye-Protection - Specifications'' is a European standard. It concerns the area of eye protection Eye protection is protective gear for the eyes, and sometimes face, designed to reduce the risk of injury. Examples of risks ...

(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.

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, optical quality, heat resistance and normal chemical resistance. *;

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, ...

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

Manufacturing

Two methods are used to manufacture face shields: extrusion and injection molding. Faceshields cut from extrusion sheets provide better impact resistance than injection molded faceshields because extrusion sheets are made of high

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 identified ...

, 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 construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer ...

, Laser cutting, Injection molding. 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 th ...

or other potentially infectious fluids. An example is the use of a CPR mask while performing rescue breathing or CPR. 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 distin ...

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 ...

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 suits To protect the wearers eyes and face from ballistic threats in combat is envisioned in the PEO Soldier 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 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

*
Face Shield in India
{{DEFAULTSORT:Face Shield Bandy equipment Body armor Emergency medical equipment Headgear Ice hockey equipment Protective gear Safety clothing