Many people in the River
Region have been spending a lot of time at the house due to work from home
orders, including the faculty and families of Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School.
MCPS parent Andy O’Donnell, a cybersecurity manager and father of senior
Charlie and 8th grader Abby, found that while he and his family
were isolating at home and had some downtime, they could help the community by
dusting off an old 3D printer and making protective face masks for people who
needed them.
“I had gotten my daughter,
Abby, a 3D printer for Christmas a couple of years ago,” he said. “It had been
sitting in storage, so we pulled it out last week, got it working, and we’ve
made a bunch of masks already.”
With the increase of COVID-19
cases in Alabama, obtaining personal protection equipment, such as protective
medical face masks, has been difficult, even for those working in the medical
community. O’Donnell and his wife, Virginia, searched online for 3D printer
filtration mask patterns that would be reusable and easy to assemble and got to
work. The plastic filament used for production is PLA, or polylactic acid, a
renewable polymer made from corn. As for the filtration, they researched various
fabrics and found that high-grade furnace filters have sufficient protection as
they are HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) rated and able to block viruses
and other particles as small as 0.3 microns in size. The mask itself can be
sterilized with a bleach and water solution or with UV light, and the HEPA
filter can be easily removed and replaced. They also received a donation of
medical-grade elastic bands, which are used to secure masks onto the faces of
wearers, from a manufacturing company.
While the O’Donnells’ 3D
printer has successfully made several masks, the process takes a few hours, and
the printer can only produce up to three masks in a day. They have ordered a
second 3D printer, but due to delays in shipments and deliveries, they will not
receive the unit until the end of March. They are also searching for a UV light
sterilizer so that they can efficiently ensure the masks are clean and sterile
before giving them away. They are currently using a bleach solution to
sterilize the masks, elastic bands, and the bags they are packaged in.
“We’ve already given some of
our masks away, including one to a friend who recently had a kidney transplant
and is immunocompromised,” said O’Donnell. “We’ve also had several nurses
reaching out to us.”
The O’Donnells are hoping to
boost their own manufacturing, but Andy says that he also hopes others will
start doing the same thing.
“There may be people out
there who, like me, bought these 3D printers for their kids,” he said. “Who
knows, they could be sitting in a garage but could be put to use. And colleges
and universities might have a couple that are just sitting there that could be
used, too.”
Of course, he wouldn’t leave
anyone to just flounder on their own, especially if this is their first 3D
printing project. “If anybody has a 3D printer at home, I can certainly train
them on how to make these,” he said. “I can help people to avoid the pitfalls
if they haven’t used one before.”
