- Name: Chris Slavik
- Location: Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
- Occupation: Manufacturing Engineer for local automotive company.
- Donation Items and Recipients: Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre, Greater Niagara General Hospital, Countless locals that work in a variety of areas that include March of Dimes, Retirement Homes, etc.
- Hobbies: Designing and 3d printing, MilSim, Camping, Hiking.
- Instagram @username: @cslav7
I decided to learn the process of 3D printing using a very affordable Creality Ender3 Pro printer during my spare time recently. One project I found interesting was surgical masks “ear savers”. They help relieve the pressure around your ears by holding the elastic strings themselves. Great for people who wear masks for an extender amount of time, or who have hearing aids! My first design was from a gentleman named Terry out of BC. These “ear savers” have inspiring quotes on them such as “You Can Do It” and ” You Got This”. It was not soon after that I started designing my own in TinkerCad! I would have thought the process was difficult, but it was very easy.
Social media was great with helping me navigate through this learning curve! I donated my first 50 to a local hospital in my area just and they just love them. They have been very helpful on design improvements such as making it slightly smaller and trying new colours! I have handed out many to essential workers as many of them are wearing masks too! But I ran into my first “good” problem… I can not make enough. I started a GOFUNDME page just to help with the cost of materials. It has grown so much that people’s donations have enabled me to purchase 2 more machines. I am just over 800 pieces donated and this number is going to start rapidly increasing.