Our prototype was made from pieces of three existing football helmet, donated by the George Mason University Club Football Team, as well as additional 3D printed components made by this design team. Images and explanations of the components follow.
SPRING MECHANISMS:
This mechanism attaches the front and back portions of the helmet (described further below under SHELL COMPONENTS), so that the front of the helmet can compress into the back. There are three spring mechanisms on the prototype, and each holds two springs. The mechanism allows for the force of a frontal impact to be spread out over a longer time duration, which was the ultimate goal of the project. Below are screenshots from the model of the spring mechanism, made in Inventor Profession, which was 3D printed. Also shown is a video of the assembly of the mechanism with the springs and the screws for attachment to the shell.
SHELL COMPONENTS:
The shell of the helmet was made from three pieces cut from existing helmets:
The back piece, which sits around the wearers neck and covers the ears (shown above).
The back compressing piece, which holds the three spring mechanisms and is directly attached to the piece covering the ears and neck (shown above).
The front compressing piece. This piece holds the other end of the spring mechanisms, thereby connecting the front and back halves of the helmet by the springs alone. This allows the entire front piece to compress into the back.
The following images show the final built prototype, with industry-standard padding inside:
