3D Printed Surgical Mask Strap Adjuster #3DPrinting #COVID19 @Thingiverse

Thingiverse user Suraky has remixed a wonderful surgical masy tensioner strap. For those masks with longer straps, they may not fit over the ears of more petite people without sagging or they be too tight wearing for an 8 (or 16) hour shift. With this strap holder design, the straps are fully adjustable to get a custom fit on a wearer.

This remix is identical to the original designed by Marslam, but with a hole punched out in the middle portion of the strap to save material and print faster.

This thing has been reviewed and approved for use in a clinical setting by the NIH (US National Institute of Health)!!! https://3dprint.nih.gov/discover/3dpx-013410

Intended to be used to hold the elastic straps of a surgical mask, to relieve the pressure of those on the ears. Apparently wearing a surgical mask all day can be hard on the ears.

The maker also writes on April 5th that, in one week, they’ve personally produced over 1300 straps, with 1215 have gone to a few hospitals in their region where they seem to be really appreciated. A volunteer group that they’re contributing to in the Vancouver BC area has delivered over 3300 straps.

So I’ve been trying to figure out why my particular remix version of the ear saver strap has suddenly become very popular, with over 14,000 downloads in the last day. I think I’ve figured it out – It’s probably due mostly to a certain Scout who’s good deed story truly went viral with over 200k shares on Facebook – that post included a link to this page. Thanks to him the ear saver idea has been seen around the world and thousands of people are printing them. I’ve added a screenshot of his story to this page