North Kent News

Montcalm Community College (MCC) student Jason Binkley of Ionia has joined the fight against COVID-19 from his apartment by using 3D printing skills to make personal protection equipment.

Binkley found designs for protective masks, shields and straps that were available for free. He got right to work, using 3D printers from MCC. Binkley is a student in the college's skilled trades program and also is a part-time lab supervisor. He also is employed at Ventra but is temporarily laid off. 

“It’s not really meant to take the place of an N95 mask, but it can help,” he told The Daily News. “Then I started making face shield brackets. And now it’s straps, so those who wear masks don’t have to strap them behind their ears.” 

Binkley said it takes about 1.5 hours to create one mask. From his home, he uses two MCC 3D printers to create the product. 

MCC President Stacy Young told The Daily News that as soon as she heard of the initiative, she wanted to do everything she could to support Bickley's effort. 

“I love it. Anything that we can be doing to help right now just makes me so happy,” she told The Daily News. “Personally, I feel inadequate. I’m not a health care worker, I’m not a doctor, I’m not a nurse. I’ve watched the news, and they say stay home, so obviously we’re doing that, but if there are ways we can support this initiative, in this case giving him the supplies, I want to do that.”

MCC quickly picked up some more printers and materials so that Binkley could expand production. 

“Jason embodies what we are as a college at MCC and what we expect from our students,” MCC Vice President of Academic Affairs Rob Spohr told The Daily News.