April 9, 2020 at 2:46 p.m.
Hodag Fab Lab offers helping hand
Local effort to combat PPE shortage
Hodag Fab Lab offers helping hand
By Stephanie Kuski-
Now that COVID-19 has reached Oneida County, the desperate call for these supplies has echoed across our community. Now that our friends, neighbors and family are directly affected by the lack of medical supplies, these uncertain circumstances are beginning to hit home for many.
Mike Wojtusik, technical education teacher at Rhinelander High School (RHS) and Fab Lab director, is one of many community members who has taken a keen interest in helping our neighbors in need.
Although RHS and the Fab Lab are currently closed, Wojtusik is still diligently at work.
Wojtusik heard the call to make masks for medical personnel through a grassroots movement of self-identified "Makers" who have supplied a blueprint for the masks and asked those with the resources to 3D print them.
"It came from a network of people in the world called 'Makers' that are forming an army to try to make up for some of the deficiencies in the medical field," Wojtusik explained. "These people feel that if you have the machinery or tools to do it, and if everybody does a little bit, we could actually make a difference in making some of these things."
"I know a lot of Fab Labs throughout the state and nation are doing the same thing as well," he continued. "We have the tools, equipment and know-how, whereas a lot of other people don't."
These masks are made out of ABS plastic created using the Fab Lab's 3D printer, Wojtusik explained. The apparatus is designed for reuse, or can be easily disinfected between uses.
Due to the shortage of traditional paper masks, Wojtusik said the idea was to make the resources that are available go as far as possible. With this design, one paper mask can be cut into four pieces, and one of those pieces can be used as a filter for the mouthpiece, which can be changed as often as necessary.
The value in this, Wojtusik said, is that one traditional paper mask can be cut up and used four times. What's more, he added that if those paper masks were to run out entirely, a HEPA furnace filter can be used as an alternative and is easily purchased at a local hardware store.
"The masks that we're making here can be used for a long time - just disinfected and reused," Wojtusik explained. "You're not replacing the whole mask [...] all you're doing is replacing that 2x2 square."
"So technically one person in the medical industry could have that same apparatus through the majority of this epidemic," he added. "We're using resources that are available to try and get through this."
Wojtusik said a freeshare file is available for those interested in taking on the project, which provides the blueprint for those masks. He said he has the ability to make roughly 20 masks per day, which could prove increasingly necessary as the days pass by and medical supplies continue to dwindle.
In an effort to distribute those masks locally, Wojtusik said he has been talking with local organizations such as Rennes Health and Rehabilitation Center about the prospect of donating the 3D-printed masks.
"I'm trying to get my ducks in a row," Wojtusik explained lightheartedly, "so if Rennes says 'we need 150 of these masks,' I'll know what I'm doing."
"I want to try and keep it local," he added. "I know I could submit these nationally to an organization, but I'm going to focus on Rhinelander for as long as I can."
Wojtusik spoke of the knowledge and skills his students learn via the RHS Fab Lab, and this experience is one of many ways these technical skills can be put to work for the good of the community.
"It goes to show that when things like this happen, everyone has to come together," Wojtusik said. "If you have knowledge or tools or whatever it happens to be, there's reason for people to step up."
While the Fab Lab is closed to students and the public for the time being, one of Wojtusik's long-time students is using his resources at home to contribute to the cause.
Devon Gaber, a senior at RHS, said he heard about the pressing need for PPE in the midst of the current pandemic and this inspired him to join Wojtusik in printing these masks.
"I have a 3D printer at my house, so I thought it would be a really great time to do it since I'm just sitting at home not doing much," Gaber said.
He said he has taken most of Wojtusik's advanced tech ed classes throughout his high school career, which has provided him with the know-how in creating prototypes, producing those en masse and eventually getting them to bigger markets.
Having that knowledge and skills "set me up perfectly for this situation," Gaber said.
Gaber said he hopes to use the skills he's gained in the Hodag Fab Lab next year when he pursues an undergraduate career in mechanical engineering.
"It's something I really enjoy doing and it connects to the career path I want to do," Gaber said. "I enjoy the Fab Lab so much. I love being down there. During my study halls, I used to go down there and just work on stuff because it's so just much fun to be able to do what I really enjoy doing."
While Gaber has found an alternative way to continue creating via 3D printing even when the Fab Lab is closed, Wojtusik said they are working on online alternatives for other students who don't have 3D printers at home.
He said his students are currently working on creating STL files, which are the files used to make the 3D-printed products. Those STL files are then forwarded by the students to Wojtusik, who runs the files on the 3D printer for those students.
"I would hope to be able to bring them as close to the experience of making something on their own and having it in their hands as I could," Wojtusik said. "But it's a challenge."
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