MTC Senior Research Engineer, Sarah Heaven, has been producing ear protectors to be worn in conjunction with a standard N95 face mask, helping NHS nurses and other care workers to fulfill their jobs with a greater level of comfort. The protectors are of great benefit to the face mask wearer, as they prevent elastic chaffing on the backs of the wearer’s ears.
Having dispatched more than 1200 of these protectors already, what makes the accomplishment even more impressive is that this has all been achieved with a home 3d printer.
Sarah commented:
‘Having made a few of the ear guards, I reached out on the Warwick and Leamington Covid Volunteers Facebook group to see if anyone needed any. Since the initial post the demand and the story has gone crazy. My husband Andy and I have dispatched over 1200 of these protectors already and orders are still coming in!’
Following social distancing guidelines, frontline NHS staff have been collecting the ear protectors at an arranged time. The ear protectors are produced using Creality Ender 3 printers using PLA (Cornstarch based thermoplastic), and have a 0.64 total thickness made up of two layers. The engineers are able to produce 10 parts every 37 minutes, costing around 7p per unit, however Sarah has generously been giving them away for free.
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