Central Michigan University students and professors are working to manufacture masks for healthcare workers.
With a national shortage of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers, local communities are trying to help hospitals meet the expected influx of coronavirus patients.
Michael Reuter is the Director of Technology Operations at Central Michigan University. He said the university’s 3D printers are currently making masks.
“We have about 30 and 35 printers running at any point in time. The masks we’re making take about four and a half hours to make so with the occasional failure here and there we’re making between 60 -75 a day.”
Reuter said once the masks are complete they’re delivered to the Michigan Health Improvement Alliance which handles distribution.
He said the group has enough material to make roughly three-thousand masks. He said if there is still a shortage once they’ve printed those, they’ll likely order more materials.
Reuter said the Deans of the colleges that fund the lab are supportive and he thinks it’s likely they could secure more funding.
So far the group has printed some 400 masks and plan to deliver 30 to the local police department, which has requested some.
3D printers aren’t the only things making masks for healthcare workers on campus.
Tanya Domina is Chairperson of the department of Fashion, Interior Design, and Merchandising at Central Michigan University. She said the department had roughly 90-yards of surgical fabric and decided to put it to use by sending it to willing students.
“And then we package it up and ship it to them along with instructions on how to lay it out for the most efficient use out of a yard of fabric.”
Domina said willing participants have expanded beyond students - she’s begun sending fabric and instructions to volunteers in the community.
Yet another group at CMU has developed instructions for people to make masks for themselves for using when they go outside.
Their efforts are now backed by the Centers for Disease Control which released new guidancethree days ago, advising the general public to wear face coverings when going outside.