Rekdal quickly made 200 filters that Richardson and his hospital colleagues could test in the prototype masks. Rekdal said he could produce as many as 20,000 more filters in just a few days.

Colton Zaugg loaded the code for the masks as open-source software on his father’s dental practice website, www.longliveyoursmile.com, for other medical professionals to use. Within three hours, the software had 1,000 downloads, and Rekdal was getting emails from people in places like Texas wanting to order filters.

“Yeah, the whole thing has been pretty crazy,” said Rekdal.

But, still, the printing of masks takes an agonizing three hours each.

The trio put the call out for 3D printers, making telephone calls and posting pleas on social media. So, far Billings Public Schools, Rocky Mountain College and Montana State University Billings have offered their 3D printers.

They figure the mask can be produced for between $1 and $2 apiece.

Richardson said he thinks the Clinic has handled the COVID-19 pandemic preparations well and that the developing situation has also provided some time for reflection. He said Billings has been relatively spared in that it has had more time to prepare than some other areas.