MADISON, Wis.— If you’re looking for safer mask protection from COVID-19, some talented minds at UW Madison have designed the perfect complement to your disposable mask.
UW-Madison professor of mechanical engineering, Scott Sanders, realized disposable masks were leaking too many particle droplets.
Impressively, what stopped the leakage, simply taping the mask sides shut.
Realizing a tapeless, non-stick alternative was what the public needed, he partnered with UW-Madison Grainger Engineering Design Innovation Lab Director Lennon Rodgers’ team. The project took months and 20 prototypes.
“We had many different types of flexible material and we tried 3D printing things and we tried all kinds of different approaches to the metal wire,” Rodgers said.
In the end, the simple tomato-stand wire did the trick.
“So we started doing this for teachers on campus in our classroom. And…