- To Deal with the shortage of face masks health care professionals in Billings, Montana, are using 3D printers
- Budmen Industries from New York that manufactures 3D printers is making face shields for medical workers and first responders
- HP’s global network of manufacturing partners is working to ensure that the 3D printed parts are available in any region around the world.
Coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic has not only resulted in a global lockdown but has led to the shortage of medical supplies including protective face masks, with the constant rise in the number of confirmed cases around the world. Almost all the countries across the globe have been faced with a similar dilemma and the concerned authorities are assessing the ways to compensate for the existing shortage.
Owing to the critical shortage of protective equipment and gears that are reported by hospitals and medical facilities around the world in order to keep their staff and the patients safe, some Do It Yourself (DIY) experts in the United States of America are coming up with homemade face masks to help fill the void.
Billings Clinic’s Face Mask
Health care professionals in Billings, Montana, are using 3D printers to make reusable plastic face masks, which are then fitted with pieces of surgical masks that can be replaced as needed. Dusty Richardson, a neurosurgeon at the Billings Clinic told that the surgical masks are cut into smaller squares that can be clipped into the plastic mask to serve as a filter He further said that with these 3D printed reusable face mask healthcare workers can get six to ten uses out of a single surgical mask.
Last week, Richardson came up with the sketch of the mask and worked with Spencer Zaugg and Zaugg’s son Colton, who specialises in 3D printing, to come with the design by adapting a pattern that was available online. Currently, the Zauggs have four 3D printers and Richardson said that they have been able to make 15 masks so far as it takes a few hours to print each mask. While Billings public schools have been shut down due to COVID 19, some teachers went back to their classrooms on Monday to print these masks using their schools’ 3D printers.
The Fergus Library 3D printer has a job to do….making medical masks for our local healthcare workers. Thankful to Dr. Dusty Richardson, Dr. Spencer Zaugg, & Colton Zaugg in Billings for sharing their design! pic.twitter.com/QbESmzyT6Q
— Fergus High School (@ferguseagles) March 24, 2020
Along with Montana State University, Billings and Rocky Mountain College libraries across the state are also in the process of printing these masks, which the Billings Library posted on their twitter handle
Our 3D printer is hard at work making masks for our local healh care workers. Design courtesy of Billings Clinic Neurosurgeon Dusty Richardson, MD and dentist Spencer Zaugg, DDS. https://t.co/7yiN2cSlp4#Billingsclinic#Makingmaskspic.twitter.com/673o0H6vPR
— Billings Library (@BillingsLibrary) March 24, 2020
The files and instructions have been posted online at – https://longliveyoursmile.com/3d-printable-mask-for-covid-19/for the same are have been posted online so that anyone with a 3D printer can make these masks.
Hearing about this project, a company called HiTech Filters said that they can mass-produce the inserts from hospital grade High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtration material quickly and without sacrificing the surgical masks.
Budmen Industries’ Mass Production
In Liverpool, New York, a couple, Stephanie Keef and Isaac Budmen of Budmen Industries, who own an upstate New York company that manufactures 3D printers, have stopped taking orders and have focused on making face shields for medical workers and first responders. The couple has designed a visor that can be made with a 3D printer and are running their 16 3D printers non-stop in the basement of their Liverpool, New York, home in making these face shields. According to Budmen Industries, the design that has been made available online has been downloaded 2,000 times and has received 40,000 requests for the face shields.
We are grateful for the #3Dprinting community! They have stepped up in a BIG way. We now have over 1,100 #3DFaceShield producers across the globe who have signed up and started connecting with their local healthcare organizations. #flatteningthecurve#ConnectTheWorldhttps://t.co/UPs7Mn5AAA
— Budmen Industries (@budmenind) March 24, 2020
McGill University Students’ Contribution
A group of engineering students at McGill University in Montreal are making use of their higher education in designing new protective equipment for healthcare workers who are at the forefront fighting against COVID 19. The students are in the process of perfecting their design of a face mask that could be made with a 3D printer.
These face masks can be reproduced on a 3D printer without the need of a large-scale manufacturing process or a factory crew.
Hewlett-Packard and Partners Mobilize 3D Printing Solutions
Hewlett-Packard (HP) Inc. and partners have stepped in to mobilize 3D printing solutions to create 3D printed face masks, face shields, and a few other innovative ideas to keep people safe during the COVID 19 pandemic. HP, being one of the largest and best-known companies in the world, putting their best efforts to create personal protection equipment (PPE) is significant as other leading companies are also encouraged to contribute toward the current crisis situation.
We’re mobilizing HP’s global #3D printing capabilities to deliver critical parts to hospitals, such as mask adjusters & face shields. More than 1K of these parts have been distributed. Read more: https://t.co/W4mb5mUPVs#COVID-19 pic.twitter.com/wafY1hGevm
— HP (@HP) March 24, 2020
The company along with its partners has already delivered more than 1,000 3D printed parts to the local hospitals close to their 3D research and development (R&D) centers in Barcelona, Spain; Corvallis, Oregon; San Diego, California, and Vancouver, Washington. HP has made its and other companies’ 3D COVID 19 models free to download
HP’s global network of manufacturing partners is working to ensure that the 3D printed parts are available in any region around the world. Some of the first applications being validated and produced include Hands-Free Door Opener which allows for easy and more sanitary opening with an elbow, Mask Adjuster to improve comfort and alleviate associated ear pain and Face Shields.
