How 皇冠app’s School of Business, Technology, and 先进制造 Produced Masks, Shields, and a Sense of Community

On a Sunday afternoon in mid-March, 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was tightening its grip on Greater Hartford, Dr. Cliff Thermer, Dean of 皇冠app’s School of Business, Technology, and 先进制造, received a call from Dr. Maria Ellis, president of the Board of Trustees. 她提醒他当地可用的N-95口罩已经耗尽，并询问先进制造公司能否提供帮助。

那次谈话为日后的善行播下了种子，并加入了皇冠app正在进行的几项积极计划。 The University had recently 向当地医疗机构捐赠了一系列个人防护装备用品, and faculty and staff were anxious to do more. “Dozens and dozens of people across the University’s landscape were involved,” Thermer detailed.

皇冠app社区联合响应

Goodwin’s 高级内阁和总统内阁 discussed how the institution could help with the mask shortage, passing along relevant articles for careful consideration. 行政助理研究项目材料和3D打印机原型代码。 Provost and Dean of Faculty Dr. Danielle Wilken connected the School of Business, Technology, and 先进制造 to 克里斯·怀尔斯博士, a resident physician associated with Hartford Healthcare, designing 3D masks from his dining room table.

When Goodwin Quality Lab technician Taylor Perry wanted to add her talents to making an even greater difference, she started to sew cloth masks, stationed by the lab’s large window, directly across the hall from Pratt and Whitney’s Composite Center. 当那里的员工看到佩里在缝纫时，他们进来问她在做什么。 Soon after, Pratt and Whitney offered the use of their 6’ X 10’ Gerber fabric cutting system and suggested using their 2’ fabric welding heat sealer for fusing polyester fibers to filters for an airtight alternative to sewing.

此外，还制造了50个用棉和高效微粒空气过滤器制成的布口罩。 佩里根据她在网上找到的图案，通过反复试验设计出了这种口罩，它包含一个方便的、可拆卸的中心滤镜。 She used some of her own funds to buy the fabric and screens and worked on the two commercial sewing machines in Goodwin’s Quality Lab.

埃莉·佩尔蒂埃（Ellie Pelletier）以前是一名专业裁缝，现在是皇冠app（Goodwin）的高级行政助理，她离开了家的限制，帮助佩里制作更多的布面具。 他们一起生产并将防护装备分发给普拉特和惠特尼公司的合作伙伴。 Several dozen masks were also allocated to the remaining essential workers on Goodwin’s campus.

生产还在继续。 皇冠app公司的员工急于伸出援助之手，他们提供了大量有关生产个人防护装备的信息。 质量实验室团队在首席技术人员Les Sinnock的带领下，从过滤进来的大量想法中选择了可以真正生产并付诸实施的计划。

当供给短缺遇到创新发明

“We’re not a manufacturer, we’re a school,” Thermer stated. “We teach students how to make things. But when called upon, we’re taking what we have, with the knowledge we have, driven by the technology available to us, and saying, ‘Hey, we can do this.’ Out of great need come great ideas, and to see that happening here at Goodwin with our partners and our people is really cool.”

小规模现代制造业的面具

In 先进制造’s first round of supplies to fight the shortage on the frontlines, they’ve produced three different designs of masks — two 3D models, one cloth design, and an additional face shield.

Dr. Dusty Richardson, a neurosurgeon from Billings, Montana, recently designed the “Montana Mask,” which can be produced with plastic, sanitized for multi-use, with custom-cut filter inserts that override single-use disposal waste. Eighty masks of the Montana model were recently fabricated in Goodwin’s newly constructed, state-of-the-art 制造业 Annex using 3D printers. 过滤器插入物是MERV-13级的，可以阻挡灰尘、皮屑、细菌等杂质，最重要的是，可以阻挡COVID-19等呼吸道病毒。 作为固定带的止血带是由护理和卫生专业学院院长保拉·多德博士提供的。

怀尔斯博士还设计了一个新的面具模型，将由3D打印机生产。 For enhanced safety precautions, he created 床罩框架 that fit around the chin and nose to further protect the face. 皇冠app的主要工作人员收到了几个口罩，包括前台工作人员和设施工作人员。 皇冠app实验室的技术人员继续生产3d设计的口罩。 一旦完成，技术人员就会把它们送到怀尔斯博士那里，与适合在COVID-19大流行期间保护的第三方过滤器配对。

制造一种安全可靠的面罩

皇冠app还制作了25个面罩。 一旦框架设计确定，质量实验室的技术团队，包括汤姆·库里和艾伦·纳尔逊，必须找到制作盾牌的材料。 经过几次不成功的原型设计后，选择了通常用于架空投影的醋酸片材。 Elastic tourniquets were used for the shield’s headband, and weather stripping, already on-hand at the University, was inserted for comfort.

最后的口罩和防护罩经过检查、装袋、紫外线处理、消毒和消毒，然后根据需要转移到哈特福德医院、圣弗朗西斯医院或康涅狄格河大学健康中心。

需求、决心和真正的皇冠app勇气

这个善意的项目及其迫切需要的坚持显示了真正的皇冠app勇气，因为使用的3D打印机不是工业机器，而是不能高速运行的业余爱好者打印机。 “While 3D technology is up and coming and some of the latest technology, it isn’t perfect,” Thermer explained. “I think some people have a Star Trek idea of 3D printers, that you can just walk up to them and say ‘computer print me…x’ and it comes out perfectly. But there’s still a process to it, and there’s still work and quality control involved.”

高质量的实验室技术人员体现了多功能性的价值

制作口罩和防护盾的教职员工仍然必须履行日常职责，适应在线教学，制作设备培训视频，并在保持社交距离期间打电话给每个学生进行日常健康检查。

为了改变我们的社区，质量实验室技术团队轮班工作，以应对冠状病毒的灾难性影响。 “While the world was shutting down, everybody and all the pieces had to come together here to make this happen,” Thermer marveled. “And I’m proud to say that Goodwin is doing all we can to help.”

更新截至2020年4月28日，皇冠app团队已经生产了200个3d打印口罩、40个面罩和105个CEGs （3d打印框架，用于将布口罩固定得更紧），并送往哈特福德医院。 他们还切割了1700多个口罩滤镜，在几个小时内完成了手工切割需要五天时间的工作。 Currently in production are “ear savers,” which support the head straps on cloth masks. 布口罩继续生产，分发给皇冠app和普惠公司的工人。

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