By Matt Robinson

While many of us — young and old alike — have used our pandemic downtime to binge watch TV shows or binge eat bread and bonbons, a 12-year-old from Vancouver has devoted his time to crafting devices intended to help first responders stay comfortable on the job.

For several months, Nickolai Junussov, a Grade 7 student at General Gordon Elementary, has been 3D printing earsavers for firefighters, nurses and other essential workers.

The small, plastic objects are shaped like a headband with hooks on each end to grab the retaining strings on the masks. They’re used to hold safety masks in place behind the wearer’s head without having to rely on their ears. As most anyone who has had to wear a mask shift after shift can attest, masks can start to irritate the back of the ears.

Nickolai Junussov holds an earsaver straight off his 3D printer. PHOTO BY HANDOUT /PNG

Junussov started making his earsavers after he learned how to use a 3D printer earlier this summer. His intention was “to contribute to the community and inspire others,” he said.

“I want to do this for people who are really working a lot during these times. It’s pretty hard wearing a mask for 10 hours a day and working in the hospital,” he said.

It took Junussov several attempts before he settled on a design that was just right.

“Some of them were too bendy and kind of snapped. Others were too stiff and you couldn’t wear them on your head. It took me about five prototypes to get a good model,” he said.

Now that he has a design, each earsaver takes about an hour and 10 minutes to print.

Junussov explained how the 3D printing process works. First, you find, modify or create a design on a computer, then input the file into the printer. The printer reads the file and very slowly creates the object, layer by layer, by laying down plastic, he said.

Junussov first learned how to use a 3D printer during a programming class, and later relied on online tutorials to hone his skills.

“Now I know how to use it pretty well,” he said.

Because Junussov is sometimes busy and unable to run the machine, he trained his nine-year-old brother to use it, too. Now, it’s churning out earsavers pretty well anytime one of them is at home.

Nickolai Junussov visits with the Vancouver Fire Rescue Services mascot, Sparky, while delivering some of his earsavers. PHOTO BY HANDOUT /PNG

Junussov has printed about 100 of the devices so far, and he has made deliveries of earsavers to Vancouver Fire Rescue Services and St. Paul’s Hospital, among other groups. On Monday, he has another planned delivery to St. Paul’s and one to the University of B.C. hospital.

Junussov said he has always been into coding and robotics and hopes his this work will help him proceed along that path.

It has been a strange year for kids like Junussov. He’s back to school now, but said it felt like he’d been stuck inside for the whole year.

“It’s good I found something to do during my free time,” he said. “It’s pretty useful. It’s not just something you just do for fun. You’re doing it for fun and you’re helping.”

Originally Published: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-youngster-uses-pandemic-downtime-as-opportunity-for-good