Do you have access to a 3D printer?
Healthcare workers are facing a dire shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) as they fight on the COVID-19 front lines. In response, one central New York couple, whose business Budmen Industries manufactures and customizes 3D printers, harnessed their technical expertise and their fleet of equipment to produce an initial batch of 300 face shields for their county's coronavirus testing site workers, and continue to contribute to healthcare centers in critical need. At the same time, many schools, research centers, private businesses and home hobbyists all across the country (and globe) have also dusted off their 3D printers to supplement their local communities with 3D face shields and other protective gear.
Inspired by these ingenious community support efforts, VFS member Jacques Virasak has also tried his hand at prototyping a 3D-printed face shield (pictured right).
If you are also interested in producing 3D-printed face shields and other products designed to #flattenthecurve, please check out these links for tutorials, templates, and coordination efforts supporting communities in need:
- Budmen Industries' 3D Face Shield Printing Guide
- HP's 3D Printing Guide for COVID-19 containment efforts
- Open-Sourced Design from 3DVerkstan (Sweden) (approved by Physicians at Weil Cornell Medical Center, New York, USA)
- Youtube Guide to Making Simple, Low-Cost and Scalable Face Shields
Posted 2020-03-30