((PKG)) 3D MASK MAKERS
((Banner: Creative Mask Making))
((Reporter/Camera: Genia Dulot))
((Map: Long Beach, California))
((Main characters: 2 male))
((Banner: Cosplayers in California are using their 3D
printers to provide hospitals with masks and ventilator parts))
((NATS))
((Robert Tovani, Cosplayer))
It’s a 3D-printed cowl or helmet. It’s like a mask basically but
it’s specifically designed and tailored to fit my face
exactly. Because of that, it’s kind of difficult to get on
because it is a rigid, hard plastic. But the amount of time
that it takes to make something like this is, and cost even is
far superior than it would be to sculpting it, molding it,
casting it. We are cosplayers. We are comic book nerds
and fans of comic book culture and everything like that.
((Stills Courtesy: Robert Tovani))
So we are naturally inclined to craft things and
creativity. That led me to a job at the Long Beach Public
Library, teaching 3D design and 3D printing, which led me to
purchasing one, which I’ve used to make costumes and
props and things like that for cosplay.
((NATS))
((Ian Talbot, Cosplayer))
We have a lot of friends in the medical field and stuff and
just, “What can we do to help instead of just sitting at home
watching Netflix?” although, if you are home, watching
Netflix, great, do that.
((Robert Tovani, Cosplayer))
Stay there.
((Ian Talbot, Cosplayer))
Stay there!
This is what we’ve done in one week on two machines.
With the masks, they are done in three pieces. There is the
front nose part. There’s the inside. There’s like a shield and
in between that is the four layers of MERV-13 filters. With
COVID-19, everyone’s, you know, needs help on the
respirators or the ventilator machines. This is a way that two
people can use one machine now. So, it splits off, kind of
like, you know, back in the day, you had for Walkman and
you could let two people could listen to it at the same
time. So, two people can use one machine now. So, we’re
just basically going to the friends, you know, the people who
are actually doing the jobs right now and just reaching out to
them first because that’s easier.
((Robert Tovani, Cosplayer))
There is a gray area and we talked about this before, where
hospitals are not supposed to accept anything from a non-
medical professional. However, they have been reaching
out to other people because they just need anything rather
than nothing. And that’s why we are kind of trying to go out
of our way to make sure that these things are able to
withstand the processes that they would go through for
sanitization.
So, we’ve switched to these ones here, which are the high
heat plastic. So, they’ll melt at a much higher rate, higher
temperature. They are a lot sturdier. They are going to last
longer. They can withstand being sanitized over and over
and over again.
((Ian Talbot, Cosplayer))
We have set up an Amazon wish list. So, whatever people
buy on there, gets shipped directly and we are just using it.
People get weird about like sending money or things like
that. What’s it actually going to? And yeah, and we just
want to do this. We are not trying to make anything out of
this or whatever. We’re just trying to help.
((NATS/MUSIC))
