DAVID HOLDEN: Welcome to the library.
So here, on the second floor of the library,
we have set up a print salon where
we are printing the face shields that
will be used for instruction here at the university
this coming semester.
We have printers set up that are printing
the halos for the face shields.
And these printers are collected from around campus.
The library itself has several printers,
but the math department, the makerspace,
as well as the MOST lab have contributed printers
to the effort here as well.
So this is not how it normally looks.
But for now as we're going through production,
we have this set up as a manufacturing environment.
So we have our kanban there where
we're maintaining an idea of what our production is
to keep us rolling.
[WHIRRING OF PRINTERS]
We have a variety of printers here
who are essentially printing these halos in a two-up format.
With all of the printers in operation,
we're able to produce about 8 halos an hour.
So all of our machines that we have making the halos are
LulzBot TAZ 6's.
And they're fused-filament printers
that are using about 25 grams of filaments for every halo.
The actual shield material, both the forehead gasket
as well as the lower shield part,
we're using these computerized cutters
here that we've installed in the library.
The face shield that we've developed here
is based on an open source design
that we started with at the beginning of the pandemic.
That design was one we worked with the Western UP Health
Department and produced for medical staff and frontline
responders to the pandemic.
So this design was when we got a lot of feedback
on from nurses and medical staff in terms of fit and comfort.
We took that feedback, and we made several modifications
to it developing a prototype that we then
tested here at the university.
The prototype that this was based on
was subjected to, basically, four dimensions of testing.
The most important dimension of testing
is whether or not it actually stops respiratory droplets
for people who are in front of the speaker.
So Will Cantro and Raymond Shaw and their development teams
were kind enough to test this prototype for us
and determine that for a speaker speaking in what they called
a worst case scenario, respiratory droplets were
below detection limits after one foot
from in front of the viewer--
excuse me, from in front of the speaker.
Based on feedback we've gotten from faculty users,
we made several other modifications.
So we broadened the fit of it and also created contours
to better fit with the head, added a piece of vinyl
to enhance the fit--
to enhance the comfort to allow it to be worn
for longer periods of time.
There was acoustic testing by Josh Lore.
And the acoustic testing demonstrated
that the best design for the face type was across the mouth
was to be more of a rounded shape.
To reduce glare, we've tried to keep a flat shape
toward up near the eyes.
We've also, based on faculty feedback,
wrapped the shield more around the head and under the chin.
Basically, this directs a person's exhalation behind them
when they're speaking.
And this enhances the effectiveness of the shield.
We also had feedback from folks from Bob Page
and our researchers the MIM who coached us
on strengthening the design and making it less fragile and more
flexible.
And finally, we got a lot of feedback
from 14 different faculty testers
who are using it in different environments including
instructional environments.
A lot of that feedback, we were able to incorporate
into the design as far as making it more comfortable and more
effective.
A lot of it is feedback that we're still
working to figure out how we can incorporate.
And so this is still an evolving design as we're moving ahead.
So the face shield was designed specifically
for an instructional environment.
We did make modifications to enhance the fit
to allow it to be worn comfortably
for a fair amount of time.
So it fits pretty comfortably.
If you've got a smaller head, you can use a rubber band
to tension it across the back.
And when you're instructing, you take your face mask off.
And we designed it with a flare out to the side as well as
the wraparound to be compatible with a boom
of standard headsets.
Right now, well, we've produced just over 850 of the shields
to get us started for the semester,
and we're moving on to continue that production.
We also have orders for face shields
to be used within the local community
and the local educational environments
in the school district.