Got a 3D printer? Here's how you can join the fight against coronavirus.

Face Shield Hero Source: Windows Key

Unless you have been taking social distancing and working from home to an extreme level, yous will likely have seen the news surrounding 3D printing and the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The good news is that there are ways you can contribute to the efforts to combat coronavirus, from home, using your 3D printer. Several dissimilar people have tried to help local hospitals past 3D printing parts, with mixed success. If yous have a 3D printer, there are ways you lot can help without risking yourself or others.

What y'all shouldn't make
What you can (and should) make
What you'll need to brand face up shields
Additional resources

What yous shouldn't make

Lulzbot Facemask Source: Twitter/@lulzbot3d

I know people are desperate to help, but there is a lot of misinformation, making the whole procedure harder. You will likely have seen articles about the Italian makers who were supplying parts for ventilators and that they were sued for using a blueprint based on a companies IP. This is not a situation that anyone wants to detect themselves in. So what should you stay clear of when making stuff to help?

Ventilator parts

Hospitals are soon going to exist in drastic need of ventilator parts, and despite our desire to assist, these parts tin can't be made from habitation. Ventilator parts volition need to be of the highest standard to work correctly and be free of all contaminants. 3D printing them on an FDM printer will exit the role porous and subject to germs build-upwards, while the resin we employ at dwelling is toxic, even later on it's been cured, so it isn't viable either.

For now, stay away from these and let the professionals work on them. Elon Musk has already said Tesla will be working to make ventilators that are safe and secure, so we accept to hope that it's plenty.

Face masks

This one feels similar something we at home could do. There are a lot of designs out there, and people are trying hard to make the right type, but there are several issues with making these for doctors. Similar the ventilators, these face masks would be porous, assuasive bacteria and the virus to get trapped between the layers. They are also rigid, and so making a tight seal is almost impossible, and a seal is an essential part of a mask. They are also extremely hard to make comfy for long periods.

What you may be able to do is impress masks for your friends in structure and inquire them to donate their N95 masks to the local hospitals and doctor's offices. Really though, the all-time solution for helping combat the virus has come from a huge name in 3D printing.

What you can make

Face Shields

Josef Printing Source: Prusa Research

If you are into 3D printing, you volition likely already know the name Josef Prusa, creator of the Prusa I3 range of printers. Josef and his squad have been working with medical professionals to pattern a face shield that you tin print at home hands and safely for the doctors in your local area, and what they take come up up with is likely your best selection for helping.

Face shields are an incredibly helpful piece of PPE for healthcare professionals. Because the coronavirus transmits through water aerosol, annihilation that can protect y'all from liquid contact — especially contact to the face — is going to decrease your odds of contracting the virus a lot. These confront shields are like shooting fish in a barrel to utilize and can exist produced chop-chop.

Facemask Final Source: Prusa Inquiry

It's not just the team at Prusa, either; at that place are now groups of people all over the globe printing this pattern and aircraft them to hospitals. Even I, with just my two printers, accept been making them. I tin make roughly 12 a twenty-four hour period if I print nonstop — that's around 80 a week — and so imagine what nosotros could do together.

Ear Savers

Ear Saver 3dprint Source: Windows Cardinal

With more and more of the U.s.a. existence told to wear masks whenever you go outside, these ear savers tin can come in very handy. Everyone, from medical professionals to grocery shop workers are having to vesture masks for 12 + hours a 24-hour interval and these little things can be very helpful. I am currently printing 11 per hour and taking them to my local grocery shop. From there they are given out to customers to help keep people comfy.

They are incredibly piece of cake to print and at that place are hundreds of variations. I like this model from sniffle as it is lightweight, flexible and very quick to print. Yous won't need any fancy materials for this either, just straight PLA works perfectly as information technology is flexible at low layer heights.

What you'll need to brand confront shields

To make these yourself, you will demand to cheque out the commodity from Prusa Research start. This will requite y'all tips on how to print the face shield and how to go far as safe as possible. One of the most of import parts of the process is to presume you have the virus. When making these shields, you should be wearing a face up mask and disposable gloves where at all possible. As soon as the prints are done, you will need to put them into a sealable plastic bag to keep them from any contamination.

There are essentially merely three parts to the face shield designed by Prusa, and so if y'all want to build them every bit complete items, y'all will need to go some parts in stock.

Matterhackers Petg Filament

Matterhackers Build Series petg filament

Petg is easy to print and has fantabulous durability properties. Information technology's easy to sterilize too, then information technology's the best choice for masking making.

While y'all can brand 3D printed parts out of most any plastic, Petg is the best option. It'southward a little tougher to impress than PLA — the temperatures needed are a picayune college, and you'll demand to print information technology slowly — but it tin can withstand higher temperatures, making it easier to sterilize at a hospital.

Buttonhole Elastic

Buttonhole elastic

To brand the caput strap comfy for long periods, this kind of band is the best.

The team is using buttonhole elastic at Prusa, and the face shield is designed with that in mind. Y'all can pick up quite a lot for cheap, enough to let y'all make a prissy amount of guards in i go.

Acrylic canvass

This is perhaps the hardest part to discover and make. Commencement off, 0.5mm articulate plastic isn't as easy to find every bit you might think, and it'll need to be at least 240mm ten 240mm to be usable. Once you've plant a source, you'll then demand to cut all the holes with a laser cutter, and unless y'all already have one buying them tin can be expensive.

Because of this, companies and maker spaces all over the world take stepped upwardly to help. Joining one of these teams equally a volunteer is probable the all-time way for you to assistance on a larger scale.

Resources for you

Face Shield Print Bed Source: Windows Central

Right now, the best way for yous to assistance is to print the parts and send them to one of the many businesses and maker spaces that are helping out in this crisis. I take a few here for you to contact and volition add more as they become available.

Masks for Docs (West coast USA)

Masks for Docs is not simply producing face shields simply gathering upwards any n95 face masks that people donate and bringing them to hospitals on the west declension of the Us. If you lot can't become admission to the plastic sheets needed for the confront masks and you want to assistance, and then contact the squad here, and they volition guide yous through the procedure. This is the squad I'chiliad currently working with, so my fourscore 3D printed parts volition go to the team at Repbox who will pack them up with the elastic and screens to transport them abroad. If you are a 3D printing Hobbyist, this is likely the easiest way to help.

Baltimore makers (East coast USA)

A grouping of makers and maker spaces over in the Baltimore area are working hard to print as many face shields equally possible. Like Mask for Docs, they take a system in place on how you can aid, and you can fill in a simple form to become yourself on the list. Having teams on both coasts are going to exist essential if nosotros are going to help the near amount of people.

Matterhackers (USA)

Matterhackers is in a unique situation to pull in a lot of information from all over the country. The company has created a hub for all the information we have about COVID-19 and has multiple sign-up points to aid you find the about appropriate ways for you to aid. Matterhackers recently announced that over 9000 face shields had been donated by their partners so far, and that number keeps climbing. You can besides utilize the code COVID15 to get xv% off Matterhackers Pro Serial Petg to help yous make every bit many shields as possible.

We tin all help

Face Shield Print Farm Source: Windows Central

I'm a big laic in humanity. When button comes to shove, we try to help each other out, and the maker community is a unique position the help more than than most. If yous take a sewing machine and material like our ain Jen Karner, you tin make face masks, if yous are a construction worker, you can donate N95 masks to the local hospitals, and if yous are a 3D printing hobbyist, you lot can brand faceshields.

The earth is scary right at present, so let'due south try and help where nosotros tin can.

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