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An area high school instructor is learning some lessons of his own in this upside down world overcome by the COVID-19 coronavirus. Industrial Arts Instructor Mike Sandell looked around his Chisago Lakes High School technology lab, minus dozens of students who normally would be scattered at work stations-- and thought to himself it would be a good thing to put three-D printers in the shop to work.  

Sandell explains, in a phone interview, how a high school classroom is creating inventory to protect local first responders.  Nearing the end of the school year there are always open packages of the plastic material that the 3-D printer uses to make items,  and they need to be used or they’ll eventually degrade and get tossed.  

Three-D printers extrude a plastic substance, following a pattern putting down layer upon layer of plastic, over and over.  Chisago Lakes High School has four “Makebot” printers with a spool of plastic that’s half-used. The “XYZ” machine printer has a bunch of filament remaining,  and the larger industrial sized “Stratus” printer has leftover ABS plastic in its compartment, Sandell said.

He found a video on the Tech Ed (teachers’) Facebook page showing how to replicate the frames of clear face shields, the personal protective equipment so very much in demand now.  You make the frame with a printer, attach the transparent front part and you’re in business.

Sandell has been running the printers overnight and collects the completed products in the morning when he arrives to present on-line class.  He runs another batch during the day.  He’s been able to do two printings or 20 shield frames daily for a total of 100 the first week.  

He lamented, “The unfortunate thing about this is that no students are in the lab to get the benefit in this.”    

Sandell said they’d be learning charity, the importance and practical applications of manufacturing, community building and that great feeling of being able to contribute in a crisis.

Sandell, who serves on the Taylors Falls Fire Department, used a PPE from the department and downloaded the replication model into the computer program that controls the printers.  

The machines have been humming away,  well into their second week.

Scott Sellman, Chisago County Emergency Operations Manager, has played a key role in distributing the personal protective equipment to needy local agencies and responders.

Sandell added that he was told to just keep making the PPE for as long as he can.

The basic materials are in stock, and the labor is provided within the school work day so this effort isn’t encumbering expenses--but if you feel like lending support to the industrial and technology arts department, donations can be made out to the Chisago Lakes High School, and the address is 29400 Olinda Trail, Lindstrom, MN 55045

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