Comparison of Thermoplastic Filaments for 3D Printing in The Development of Ventilator During Ventilator Shortage Situation

The ventilator shortage issue during the Covid-19 pandemic has become a challenge for the medical team in providing the necessary treatment for patients. Open-source ventilators were designed to curb this situation by providing the best minimal designs that can be shared and built within a short period of time. People’s Ventilator Project was one of the comprehensive open-source ventilators (PVP) being shared that utilise the 3D printing technology. In this paper, different 3D printing filaments, which are PLA, PETG and ABS were being printed and investigated to identify the best filament that is most suitable to be used for ventilator parts. Two types of tests were used to compare the filaments which are the Disinfectant Test to ensure the material can withstand disinfectant used in healthcare facilities and the Failure Test to check the strength of each material. As the conclusion, PLA filament is considered as the best filament as it has the least printing issues and its capability of being printed at a circulating surrounding temperature.