At the start of the week, Tyler Kerr was one of the few people in the office at the University of Wyoming’s Student Innovation Center. He and his team had a busy weekend 3D printing 115 face masks for Wyoming.
“We did a full 48 hours of non-stop printing. We’re coming in at like 2:00 a.m. to start the printers again. My staff took a well-deserved day off to sort of rest and recharge their batteries,” he said.
Kerr coordinates the makerspace at UW, a place where anyone can come and learn to use emerging technology like laser cutters and 3D printers.
Kerr and other makers around the state are combining their brain power, equipment and supplies to produce personal protective equipment or PPE -like surgical masks, face shields and gowns- for healthcare providers. The Centers for Disease Control says there are major shortages of PPE like n95 respirator masks because of COVID-19….