CMCC Staffers Producing Respirator Masks
Information Support Specialist Kyle Fleming monitors one of the 3D printers at CMCC as it produces a plastic respirator mask.
Members of the Information Technology Services (IT) Department at Central Maine Community College (CMCC) are currently making respirator masks that could be donated to local health care providers. Made of plastic filament (from polyactic acid) and antimicrobial thermoplastic, the masks are costing only a few dollars each to produce.
The masks are being produced by the fully enclosed, industrial grade 3D printers located in CMCC’s 3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing lab. The lab is often used by students in the Architectural and Civil Engineering program when they need to create three-dimensional objects.
Dean of IT Bob Boucher said he and his staff are working on a new design that may allow for printing a greater number of masks. Some of the masks might also be used by IT workers who will be handling laptops for student use in the college’s parking lot computer lab.