3D Printed Masks for DTRA

Employees at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) have been fortunate to have SMS engineer Robert Cross-Price as their co-worker during COVID-19. Robert has so far brought 50+ masks to his co-workers at DTRA. He has also donated them to employees at his local grocery store and has been offering them freely to anyone who asks. Robert makes his masks (Robert’s personal mask pictured below) on Tevo Tornado 3D printers, and that is not the only unique thing about them.

The filter material is the inner layer of a HEPA vacuum bag, though he says anything breathable can be used. They have a snap-in frame so you can replace the cartridge/filter material. Robert has been cranking these out on his printers (he has 3 of them) most every day since March. The masks are printed in PLA plastic and are reusable, washable, environmentally friendly, and based on the ‘Montana Mask‘ that was developed by a small team of Montana doctors. Robert has 2 sizes he has been using and can also re-scale them as needed. They take about 5 hours each to make and he will also e-mail the g-code and STL files to anyone who wants them, or they can also be found on the Montana Mask site. Robert has worked with SMS for over two decades as a Senior Network Engineer. He has supported several Defense Department operations, Base Realignment and Closures (BRAC) for the Army, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) engineering support, as well as Department of Justice (DoJ) support. SMS thanks Robert for his long-time support and for his creative solution for his co-workers and community during COVID-19!

Robert’s 3D printer with masks: