Developing Projects

After a short drive from Brick, you can find yourself in Point Pleasant where the Kiwanis Club of Point Pleasant is doing their part to help. They have designed face shields for first responders and health workers using vinyl (or another type of clear material), double-sided mounting tape, foam (polyurethane foam), and elastic. For more information to help the Kiwanis of Point Pleasant, go to https://www.pointpleasantkiwanis.org/faceshields or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PointPleasantNJKiwanis/. For instructions on how to make their face shields, you can go to https://psjh.blob.core.windows.net/covid/PSJH_Faceshield.pdf.

In Titusville, NJ, the local schools and local fire department are doing their part to help by using 3D printers to help make face shields. The Union Fire Company and Rescue Squad uses a three-dimensional computer model, uploads the model to the 3D printer, and lets it print. The printers create a frame for the face shields and using tabs on the frame, the clear ‘shield’ is then attached to the frame by inserting the tabs on the frames into the holes made on the rim of the shield. They have also designed small devices to hold someone’s face mask straps back so that they do not rub the back of their ears. To see the story go to https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/04/fire-fighters-aided-by-school-district-use-3d-printers-to-create-protective-masks.html?fbclid=IwAR2ara27lAHUMDjhtLHgXo05askalypz6qUQqrE9i9Xg9BQWkRyCbhZCApo or you can watch a short video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_QpG6M6ckk&feature=youtu.be If you or someone you know has a 3D printer they can find the 3D models at https://github.com/bha-github-organization/trip-d-print, under the folder titled “stl.”

A college senior from Versailles designed masks for the deaf and hard of hearing community. For those who are deaf or hard of hearing, they can communicate in a variety of ways and some of those ways include, but are not limited to, sing languages and lip reading. With traditional personal protective masks the mouth is covered and out of sight. Isn’t that the point, to keep the mouth covered to help prevent the spread of a virus? Well, yes, but there is a problem. How can you lip read if you cannot see the person’s lips? You can’t. Also, in many different sign languages facial expressions are VERY important in understanding what is being signed, from eyebrows (furrowed or raised brows) to the shape your mouth makes it is all important in sign language. 21 year-old Ashley Lawrence is crafting a solution. Lawrence is studying education for the deaf and hard of hearing at Eastern Kentucky University. Her and her mother are designing these masks to incorporate clear fabric to allow a person’s mouth to be seen. They are continuing to try and improve their designs and are also working to make personal protective masks for people with hearing aids and cochlear implants. https://www.lex18.com/news/coronavirus/college-student-makes-masks-for-the-deaf-hard-of-hearing

“I recently purchased this new laser printer to help grow my business. I was referred to an online group where you can share ideas/projects and this was an idea on the page. Once the COVID outbreak began, I came across a post stating that nurses and doctors were bleeding behind their ears from the prolonged mask wearing. I got in touch with my cousins, who are nurses, to see if it was something that would be useful to them, and they said it would be useful for sure. I made some from the materials I had here in stock and donated 53 clips. The clips were gone within the first shift and they were calling for more the next day! I began to raise money to help others out. Today we are up to 1,240 clips! I’m so proud that over a thousand people are now able to go to work without bleeding ears or bruised faces. So far they have gone to over 15 hospitals and medical centers across 5 states. I’m hoping to be able to reach more people and do my part, even if it’s just this small gesture.” - Vanessa Santana

Etsy link: (Direct link to Etsy shop where people can purchase clips. For every 25 clips bought, Vanessa donates 25 clips to a hospital or medical center)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/794031985/25-mask-clip-w-donation?ref=shop_home_active_1&frs=1

Ever since the start of Covid-19, healthcare workers have been faced with wearing uncomfortable face masks all day long. Due to this newfound normality, healthcare workers are prone to strap irritation that occurs around the ears. Recently, Mr. Lemiska and his daughter, Carly, a S.T.E.M. student at Brick Memorial High School, have been 3D printing more comfortable ear straps that take the pressure from face masks off the ears. These ear straps have been relieving workers from uncomfortable irritation, which has made wearing masks for long periods of time more tolerable. After sending a batch of these ear straps to a local hospital to test out, great feedback was received. As they continue to produce more straps, they have redesigned them to now include a signature of Brick Memorial High School.

When the Coronavirus outbreak reached our community, one of our STEM Academy classmates, Rafael Gonzales-Trelles, and his family acted quickly to get involved with relief efforts. The family began to collect common household items to make masks and face shields that would protect individuals from the spread of this highly contagious illness.
The Gonzalez-Trelles’ sewed together fabric and elastics to create more comfortable and durable face-masks. On top of this, they also assembled face shields with clear binder covers, plastic folders, snap buttons, tape, and elastic bands. What makes Rafael’s family's masks unique from other designs is the glow in the dark tape that helps bind the materials together. This tape can be helpful in low visibility settings and can prove useful in the event of a power outage or emergency situation.
Rafael is also experimenting with his family 3D printer. Their household has been printing face shield components similar to the ones the STEM Academy is producing, but with a different type of plastic filament called PET-G. This plastic is slightly more expensive than the PLA filament the STEM Academy is using, but it is more durable. Rafael is using his STEM skills to determine if printing face shield components with this higher quality filament will prove more cost effective in the long run.
The Gonzales-Trelles family has distributed some of their masks and shields to their neighbors, family and friends that will be in high risk environments for testing purposes. So far the responses have been positive and we can’t wait to see how the family’s PPE designs improve.

"My family and I feel honored and blessed to be able to help out the community as we have been doing. It's amazing i get to put my engineering skills into practice, especially at such a young age. I learned some of the skills with the STEM Academy and some right here at home."