Mission, Texas- Three students involved in the engineering programs at Veterans Memorial High School have turned some of their energy during the COVID-19 pandemic into a community support project. Eduardo Lucio, Lucas Dovalina, and Marco Rivera reached out to their teachers for some guidance on how they might be able to give back to healthcare workers and others serving in essential roles during the shelter-at-home period. After some brainstorming, the students decided to try and produce ear-savers using their own personal 3D printers that they had at home. The ear-savers are designed to relieve the ears of the rubbing and pressures caused by wearing masks for extended periods of time.
Lucio conducted much of the design research and began reaching out to hospitals, clinics, first responders, etc. Dovalina worked on the design model using Computer Aided Design (CAD) software. He then shared the design with Rivera. Dovalina and Rivera then started “printing” the devices using their personal 3D printers. They are then sorted, packaged with a thank you note. Lucio has been providing delivery of the ear-savers.
To date, the trio has produced 450 of the ear-savers and delivered 400 of them. They have delivered them to: Alton Police Department, Mission Police Department, South Texas Health System ER in Mission, Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, Elara Caring Hospice, South Texas Research Institute.
The trio has indicated that they plan to produce more and are reaching out to more facilities in the area and that some have started to reach out to them via social media requesting the ear-savers.
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