As Windward’s physical campus moved to a virtual model in the wake of COVID-19, Windward’s Resident Tinkerer Max Nishimura decided to put one of the School’s most state-of-the-art resources to good use. Using the advanced 3D printing and modeling equipment available in the CREATE Studio, Max and other Windward Faculty members worked to make and build safety masks and face shields for local hospitals and care centers in need.
The project proved to be a complicated one at first, as procuring the necessary materials and fine-tuning the model specifications and subsequent prototypes came with its challenges. In the end, the efforts of Max and his team paid off, as they were able to donate the 3D printed face shields to Long Beach Memorial and Southern California Hospital in Culver City. Five shields were also sent to a hospital in Florida for medical validation. In total, the team crafted and donated 40 face shields.
Incredibly, they’re not done yet. The CREATE team is now working to print face masks, with requests from a local nursing home, as well as USC Keck Medical to print and distribute them. This undertaking is truly inspiring, and serves as an uplifting reminder as to the resilient spirit of our Windward community.
