Battling COVID with 3D Printers
Well, it’s been a wild couple of months…and things are only getting crazier! The COVID-19 pandemic has us in its grips and is truly shaking things up all around the planet. We’ve re-directed our efforts here, entirely, into making PPE medical gear for local ICU and emergency wards.
Here is one of the masks we’ve made here at DM3.Consulting - We are going to make many more! Image Courtesy: Dan Meyers
The story starts with my neighbor, who is head ICU RN at Peace Health (SW Wash.). I’ve been hearing stories about PPE supplies running low, potential for exposure, etc… So, there’s the impetus for what we’re doing here. Next, how to make the masks? Turns out several others were on this already…so I began perusing through what was out there.
The best design I found was from two doctors (and one of their sons) from Billings, Montana, who came up with a re-usable, N95 mask design. Dubbed “The Montana Mask,” this particular mask has gone through multiple clinical trials, showing that it is an effective barrier against COVID-19. See their page here (very impressive indeed). In any case, they want this mask design to be used by any and all, so we’ve jumped in to quickly help in the local effort. We’ve created multiple sizes to fit different faces, and we’ve also crafted our own face seal using MD Rubber Window Seal.
You can see the portion of N95 filter material sandwiched in-between the mask and the filter “window.” This design allows medical professionals to cut up existing N95s into small pieces, allowing for the hard mask to be re-used (with a small filter portion) multiple times. Proper disinfecting must (of course) occur between uses. The number of re-uses depends on the mask size, as well as the size of the original N95 mask. Other filter materials are being sought to work in this “window” as N95s are running out completely in multiple places. Instructions link given below. Image Courtesy: Dan Meyers
Interested in getting involved? Contact Dan Meyers at: dan@dm3.consulting or via cell at 503-550-6110
Want to donate? Here’s a GoFundMe I put together for raising funds to make more gear. Here is a brief feature that was just done on KOIN 6 News out of Portland.
Want to print and craft some of these masks yourself? Here are the necessary files and instructions:
Well, I hope you and yours can stay safe and healthy out there. When this all blows over I’m thinking there are going to be some very big parties…although maybe we’ll be high-fiving from a distance of 6’ or more for a while…
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