Month: April 2020

PSA: If you’re printing ear savers, don’t half-ass it.

It’s awesome to see the community come together to produce things people need in a time like this but I would like to humbly bring up that I’ve seen a lot of ear savers and designs for them that are a little troublesome.I spoke to several nursing homes and our local hospitals and asked if there was any specific design consideration they needed for ear savers. Almost across the board, they said the only thing they really needed was to have as few sharp edges as possible, either in the design or the finished print.Sharp edges can get snagged in hair, clothing, or headwear and can inadvertently scratch a person’s scalp or neck.If the print isn’t processed correctly after it’s done, sharp bits can be left from skirts or just abnormalities in the print and these can represent a potential problem for the wearer. One nurse told me that she’d actually had a pretty uncomfortable scratch on the back of her neck from a printed ear saver because the person who made it didn’t make the effort to smooth off some rough edges of the print.I know it’s a serious pain in the butt to go through and inspect 100+ ear savers to ensure there aren’t any bits of flashing or other potential tangle points on each one but the people who wear them for hours and hours every day will appreciate it if you do.If you’re looking for a design, this is a design that has been pretty widely appreciated. It isn’t my design but it incorporates all the elements that I’ve seen people who wear masks for long periods of time ask for.Also, it’s common practice to use adhesives of some kind to help a print stick to the print bed. It’s important to remove that adhesive and wash it off before passing the ear savers along. You have no idea how what you used is going to react to someone else’s skin or hair.Keep in mind that aesthetics and long-term durability aren’t necessarily top priority. It’s perfectly ok if the print doesn’t look good or you’re worried it may not hold up for months and months. The priority is getting things to people who need them and the people who need ear savers are not going to care about imperfections as long as those imperfections don’t cause problems.Finally, please let the facilities you’re donating to know what you used for materials. Many medical facilities are not savvy on 3D printing and don’t know that you can’t heat certain 3D printing plastics past certain temperatures or use certain cleaners or solvents on them. Write down maximum temperatures on the box that you use to turn them in and any notes about cleaning/sterilization products to avoid lest the ear savers be damaged or damage equipment.Again, I’m super happy to be a part of a community that’s willing to turn out in a time of need. Just a little bit of extra thought goes a long way. As someone who does have to wear a mask for 10+ hours per day for work, those of us who wear them 100% notice and appreciate the extra care. https://ift.tt/3cQC5Nt