Life cycle assessment of accessories of personal protective equipment PPE of easy manufacture: Ear-saver and anti-contact key

Abstract

The exponential growth of additive manufacturing techniques and their applications to accessory manufacturing for personal protective equipment (PPE) is becoming a reality. In the forthcoming years it will be able to supply local demands with more efficient and easier to use devices for medical protection. In this article we propose a method of customizing the design and manufacture of PPE accessories such as the Ear-Saver and Anti Contact Key. The proposal considers not only innovative aspects of the product design and rapid manufacturing issues, but also defines a framework considering the product lifecycle and outlines important indicators from economic, social and sustainable perspectives. A set of experimental case studies that are included to enrich the proposed framework and its metrics allows better assessment of the different activities and the environmental impact of the product.