Greensburg Salem middle school students 3D print face shields for first responders

Kristy DiPasquale’s Greensburg kitchen has become more of an assembly line than a place for cooking over the past two weeks.

DiPasquale, 40, is helping her 14-year-old son, Adam, build face shields with the 3D printer he received for Christmas. The shields will be donated to first responders to help protect them during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I don’t think in the beginning he realized what a good cause this was,” Kristy DiPasquale said of her son. “When we started seeing how all the hospitals and first responders were desperate for these items, I think it put them in motion to really try to get these done for them. It just really makes you feel good that you can give back.”

The DiPasquales are not alone in their mission to donate 250 shields to Mutual Aid Ambulance Service in Greensburg and about 25 to the Greensburg Police Department.

Greensburg Salem Middle School eighth graders Ayden Thompson and Ryan Ghrist, both 14, are also 3D printing headpieces thanks to technology education teacher Brian Nymick, who provided the duo with 3D printers.

“I wanted to get involved because I like helping people, and if I could do something to help with the coronavirus and help prevent it from spreading, I want to help,” Thompson said. “Being out of school is nice but I didn’t really want to be out of school for the rest of the year. (The project) gives me a purpose.”

Ghrist agreed, noting that more people working on the project can make a bigger impact.

The idea for the project started when Kristy DiPasquale saw a 3D printed mask on Facebook. After she presented the idea to her son, Adam DiPasquale downloaded a design for the headpiece and bottom of the shield to the CorelDRAW program and started printing.

Each piece takes about an hour to print.

When all three boys are done printing, Kristy DiPasquale assembles them to a clear face shield.

So far, 200 pieces have been been printed and 120 are assembled.

For parents Deanna Thompson and Amy Ghrist, seeing their sons involved in the project makes them proud.

“It made me so happy that he took the initiative to contact (Adam), that he just wanted to do something,” Amy Ghrist said of her son. “I think they feel like it’s a small thing, but right now small things add up to big things. A bunch of small things make a big difference.”

Scot Graham, a supervisor at Mutual Aid Ambulance Service, said the project is fulfilling a need that will protect EMS workers.

“It’s amazing that these kids stepped up to the plate and decided to do this as a project,” he said. “That helps us tremendously. I cannot say enough about these guys doing this. That definitely fulfilled a need for us.”

Kristy DiPasquale hopes the project becomes an example for people to see how easy it is to help out during the crisis.

“It’s so easy to create something that’s so useful for first responders or the medical staff,” she said. “It’s easy to do, we just hope that more people will step up and help.”