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Cleanroom goggles redesigned to fit Asian faces

Many cleanroom goggles were first designed around Western face shapes. Customers across Asia kept telling us they did not sit right. So we worked with our manufacturer on a new mould, and tested it with them.

Sector
Cleanroom and controlled environments
Location
Across Asia
Need
Goggles that fit Asian faces
A cleanroom operator in a white ESD hood, face mask and blue goggles that sit close to the face, holding a wafer carrier

The problem

Many goggles on the market were first designed for Western faces. On many Asian faces the nose bridge sits lower and the cheeks are flatter. A frame made for a higher bridge can rest on the cheeks and leave a gap at the nose.

A gap does two things. Air moves in and out through it, so particles, splashes and vapour can reach the eye area. And warm, damp breath from behind the mask rises through the gap and onto the lens, which then mists up.

Operators dealt with it in their own ways. They pushed the goggles back up, loosened and tightened the strap, took them off to wipe the lens, or wore them badly. Each one broke the gowning routine, and some goggles stopped being worn at all.

Several customers asked us for the same thing: goggles that fit better, in a size that suits Asian face widths.

How we worked

From the first visit to the finished product

  1. Listen to the wearers

    The requests came from different sites and different people. The complaints matched: gaps at the nose, goggles sliding down, and fogging when worn with a mask.

  2. Change the mould

    We worked with our manufacturer to change the mould itself. The frame size was adjusted, and the nose area was reshaped to sit closer to the face and stay in place.

  3. Keep what already worked

    The lens stayed anti-fog polycarbonate. The goggles still fit over prescription glasses and still withstand repeated steam autoclave cycles.

  4. Test in real use

    The goggles were field tested at several customers. The feedback went back to the manufacturer, and the fit was refined before we added them to our range.

The solution

  • A mould made for the wearer. The frame size and the nose bridge were changed in the mould. This is a change to the shape of the goggle. It is not a foam strip or an adjusting trick added afterwards.
  • A closer fit at the nose. Where the goggle meets the nose and cheeks, the gap is smaller. Less air passes through it, so there is less fogging and less chance of particles or splashes reaching the eyes.
  • Comfortable for a full shift. A goggle that fits does not need adjusting. Operators leave it alone, and wear it as intended.
  • Made for cleanroom use. Anti-fog polycarbonate lens that fits over prescription glasses. Autoclavable for up to 40 steam cycles. Cleaned and packed in an ISO 5 cleanroom.

What the customer received

  • Goggles designed around Asian face shapes
  • A reworked mould, with changes to frame size and nose bridge
  • Field testing at several customer sites before release
  • Cleanroom-packed goggles, supplied in cases of 50
  • Samples for a trial with your own wearers
Caps, masks and eyewearAsk for goggle samples

This story reflects requests from several customers. No single customer is named. Check the current datasheet and your own site rules before you specify eye protection.

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