When the Community Foundation of Dunn County provided Boyceville High School with a fully funded grant to purchase a new 3D printer in 2018, we would have never thought it would end up being used to create medical masks to assist our local community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The grant for this 3D printer was written by Boyceville High School science teacher and Science Olympiad coach Andy Hamm, who had previously received a grant through the Foundation to help purchase the school’s first 3D printer, which the current one replaced. The Foundation has supported Boyceville Schools in their STEM initiatives through our competitive grant funding and donor advised funding from Marilyn Fanetti.
Hamm collaborated with senior Cade Kleftstad, who plans to attend UW-Platteville in the fall to study Engineering and who has countless hours of experience with the school’s 3D printer, to begin production on the reusable N-95 masks. Hamm and Cade have discovered the printer can manage the creation of six masks per day, taking roughly 10.5 hours per three masks.
Although the “Montana Mask” has not been approved by the FDA or NIOSH and are not yet regulated for hospital use, other organizations such as local police and fire departments may be interested in them. On Tuesday, Hamm donated the first four masks to the Boyceville Police Department. He encourages anyone in the area who has a 3D printer and would like to assist in this project to contact him at the Boyceville School District or email him at andyha@boyceville.k12.wi.us.
Cade Kleftstad, right, with classmate Jaden Reisimer, with a 3D printer project during the 2018-19 school year.
Jaden Reisimer watches material being processed inside the Boyceville High School’s 3D printer.