Technologist uses 3-D printer to aid health-care workers

A credit union consultant is using his technology expertise and equipment to create much-needed supplies for medical workers.

John Best, CEO/co-founder of Best Innovation Group (BIG), is using a 3-D printer to produce masks for frontline medical staff.

“These are times that call for creative solutions,” Best says. “I’m sitting at home like everybody else. If there’s a way I can provide help where it’s most needed and I have the means to do it, I’m going use the tools I have available to me.”

Best says he and Elliot Cotto, BIG’s chief creative officer, were lamenting the shortage of personal protective equipment for medical workers. Cotto’s girlfriend has two daughters who work in medical facilities, and they don’t have enough equipment.

Best did some research and found he could produce masks on a 3-D printer. He also connected with a group that helped him set up for the process.

“I’m not a 3-D printing expert,” he says. “It saved me a ton of time, and I can do this much more  efficiently.”

Each mask takes about two hours to print. To achieve scale, Best joined forces with a Make4COVID, which is producing equipment for the medical community.

“They provide me with a protocol to follow,” Best says. “Obviously, because of the nature of the equipment, a sterile environment is a big part of both the process and the packaging.”

Best acquired his 3-D printer from Harry Kloor, a futurist and scientist who has worked with BIG as a speaker and consultant. After Best asked Kloor about using the printer to produce masks, Kloor shared the idea with his friends, creating an even larger community of 3-D mask “makers.”