Westmoreland Intermediate Unit coordinates 3D mask-making project for county public safety workers

A few area educators have become mask manufacturers in a matter of weeks.

The group was on track to make 300 plastic 3D printed masks by Friday with no signs of stopping, said Tim Hammill, Westmoreland Intermediate Unit curriculum services director, who is coordinating the project among three county school districts.

“I want the project to continue as long as there’s a need,” he said.

The masks are filling pockets of need in the community as the coronavirus pandemic rages on, said Cassandra Kovatch, public information officer at Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety. The masks are being donated to the department.

“I think it’s truly remarkable to see everyone in the community stepping up to help,” she said.

Personal protection equipment for those on the pandemic’s front lines has been in short supply for some as prices soar and more are seeking it. Residents, students and others around the region with access to 3D printers have put them to work to help while school has been shut down for the rest of the academic year.

The Westmoreland Intermediate Unit, based in Hempfield, is coordinating with three county school districts to make Montana Masks, which incorporate the use of a piece of fabric from N95 masks as the filter, Hammill said. The design was created by three men in Montana and they are offering online instructions on how to use a 3D printer to make them for goodwill community distribution or donation.

The idea was posed to Hammill at the end of March and it didn’t take long to get started. They decided to direct the items to the public safety department, where Kovatch said they will be connected to government entities, nonprofits and those working in congregate care.

“Some of our folks out there in the first responders and nursing homes … who use masks every day, they still need these supplies and are having a hard time getting them,” Hammill said.

The masks also can be directed to first responders in the event the department’s stockpile for them gets low, Kovatch said.

The masks are being printed and assembled at locations around the county. Derry Area High School teacher Dave Vinopal, Greensburg Salem Middle School teacher Brian Nymick and Jarred Schultz, teacher at Stewartsville Elementary School in the Norwin district, are producing the masks, along with some help from the intermediate unit, Hammill said. Each takes about five hours.

The material from one N95 mask can be used as the filter in six Montana Masks, Hammill said. Weather stripping goes around the edge and the mask is secured with elastic. That final piece takes about 15 minutes each.

Intermediate unit assistive technology specialist Candice Hite and educational consultant Sarah Wagner are helping with assembly. Weather stripping, plastic filament and elastic were donated by Tom Joseph, regional coordinator of the Montana Mask Project. Franklin Regional parent Melanie Fleming donated elastic and money.

The public safety department received its first donation Wednesday of 100 masks, Kovatch said.