x
Breaking News
More () »

A 3D mask making project is ramping up in West Hartford

The doctor added that there have been so many people who now are using his blueprints to make the high end masks

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Dr. Chris Wiles began his 3D mask making project last month and, now, the high tech printers are in motion around the clock. Wiles is a first-year anesthesiology resident at Hartford Hospital who has made it his mission to share his designs to anyone who has a 3D printer — so they can make a mask themselves.

 “I just share the files, the knowledge, the videos, and the masks themselves,” Wiles said. 

Wiles added that there have been so many people who now are using his blueprints to make the high-end masks — similar to an “N-95” mask — which are the standard in the medical field. The team is also making face shields, 

“We are shipping all over to New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and obviously Connecticut…I got a request for 150 face shields from Guatemala,” Wiles said. 

RELATED: Mother-daughter duo making masks for those who need them

RELATED: Places to find masks around Connecticut

RELATED: Local Connecticut business making protective face mask to help medical employees battle the COVID-19 pandemic

These days, instead of making rounds in the hospital, Wiles works out of the top of a remodeled garage of a West Hartford home owned by a husband and wife who are area doctors and donated the space. Each day, Wiles is joined by fellow physicians and area residents, happy to lend a hand with the 3D printing project. Dr. Sean Harford, a first-year internal medicine resident at UConn Health arrived at the garage after his overnight shift in Farmington ended and began loading the pieces needed to get more masks made. 

Harford said, “for me, it’s just that I saw an opportunity to give back.” 

Before You Leave, Check This Out