MCHS making face shields

DENVILLE  Arlene Sullivan, a visual and graphic arts teacher at Morris Catholic High School (MCHS) here, has joined a grassroots effort to collaborate with New Jersey high school robotics teams and private and public sectors to use 3-D printing technology as part of an ongoing effort to ease face shield shortage in the medical field due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shahram Dabri, STEM manager of the Education Office of the U.S. Army’s Pica­tinny Arsenal in Dover, has been reaching out to more than 400 New Jersey schools to help with “PPE [Personal Protective Equip­ment] Made in America,” an effort with the goal of making 1,000 face shields locally using 3-D printers to make the headband portion of the device. One of those educators was Sullivan, a 15-year MCHS alumnus.

Sullivan and Dabri stayed in contact since meeting years ago at a 3-D printing workshop by MakerBot and Picatinny, where educators received a 3-D printer. Last month, Picatinny held a two-day workshop for more than a dozen New Jersey teachers with advanced training in 3-D printing and Computer Aided Design (CAD), where they received a free MakerBot 3-D printer for their students to use in school.

After receiving Dabri’s request recently, Sullivan sought help to upgrade her home computer for the 3-D printing task from Richard Heywood, former MCHS technology expert and now technology services manager for the Somerset County Educational Services Commission and senior consultant for PeggNet Computers, and Jonathan Sullivan, her son, who is a 2017 graduate of the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark and an engineer in training. Heywood lent her one of his updated laptops, while her son oversaw the installation. Each print takes at least two-and-a-half hours.

The 3-D programs for the medical mask pieces came from Jim Hoffman, STEM teacher at Newton High School, and the coach of its Varsity Robotics Team for the past 11 years. Rohan Sawhney, a student of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, asked Hoffman to help make PPEs, specifically face shields for healthcare.

Everyone involved understands the urgent need. Sullivan’s younger brother, a doctor in Sparta, and his wife both tested positive for the virus and were hospitalized. Hoffman’s son, Justin, a Newton High School graduate and a 2017 gradate of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, now works as a third-year resident on the front lines of the crisis at University Hospital in Newark.

“In this crisis, it’s all hands on deck and it’s great to see everyone come together in the effort,” said Hofmann, who also is requesting help from any business or school that has spare 3-D printing capacity.

Hofmann sent emails to his network of STEM partners that described the project with what materials were needed and the associated costs. The first to respond was Alex Cable, CEO of Thorlabs, Inc., a Newton­­-based optical equipment company. He committed his engineering staff to prototype headband samples and then output on his company’s 3-D printers, as well as help in sourcing PETG .02 (polyethylene terephthalate glycol), a sheet of tough plastic material that completes the face shields. Thomas Sinner’s engineering team at Thorlabs will cut the large PETG sheets into smaller, more manageable sizes.

Mark Maruska and Adam Zuedima of Gravity DesignWorks in Newton volunteered to cut the smaller PETG sheets into finished face shields. In addition, John Kennedy, CEO of the New Jersey Manufac­turing Extension Program, a not-for-profit that works with the state’s small to mid-sized manufacturers, agreed to help with the supply chain and sourcing of PETG. David Romano of RoNetco Supermarkets, Inc., owner of eight local ShopRite grocery stores, has pledged financial support, as has Kristin Prigmore of the Prigmore Science Foundation.

Several neighboring high schools with robotics teams and 3-D printers, which are usually competitors, are also pitching in to help, including those from Lenape Valley, Mount Olive, Vernon and now MCHS.

“Fate has brought us all together. I am honored to be a part of this, to be able to make a positive difference, during this uncertain time,” Sullivan said.