COVID-19 and 3-D printed P.P.E.

During March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began to make its way across the United States, one of the first responses that my wife and I made was through one of the organizations we love, the Central Texas Food Bank to try and alleviate some of the pain that our fellow Texans were experiencing. But it didn’t stop there. We then turned our attention to producing P.P.E. for loved ones and friends that work in the medical and emergency services fields, as well as those that wanted one — in exchange for a donation to the food bank.

Today, we gave two requested face shields to a Medical Doctor and his wife, both of whom frequently make sizable donations to the food bank. Upon receiving his and her face shield, he immediately asked us for 20 more for all of the staff in his office, and he told my wife that his son is fascinated by 3-D printing, so I figured I’d throw an article together for how these are made.

To see the videos in this slideshow, please click-through to the Google Photos album.

Tools

• re:3D Gigabot 3+ — Industrial 3-D printer that runs on Marlin-based firmware with a USB connection for upgrades and interfacing to other software.
  • COVID-19 Update: Operations, Serving Educators & Joining the Fight
  • Global Gigabot Community Rises to the Challenge of COVID-19
  • Austin Chapter – 3D Printer Army of Texas
• Raspberry Pi 3 or above.
• 3-hole punch

Software

• Faceshield.nu file — STL file used for fabricating the frame.
• Simplify3D — used for slicing the STL file to G-code.
• Octoprint — OS distribution that runs on a Raspberry Pi and directly runs the printer via USB.

Supplies

• PLA filament (or better yet, PET-G). I have plenty of PLA and at the height of the COVID-19, I had to make do with what I had since most supplies were out. I try and only use white so that blood and other contaminants can be easily identified for cleaning, since these are in use by medical doctors, first responders, and other frontline workers.
  • Verbatim 3D Printer Filament – PLA High-Grade 3mm 1kg Reel
  • Gizmo Dorks 3mm (2.85mm) PLA Filament 1kg / 2.2lb
• 100-pack 8.5″ x 11″ 10 Mil PVC Binditek Clear PVC Binding Presentation Covers
• Rubber bands.

Resources

• The faster a country required masks, the fewer coronavirus deaths it had: study
• Are Face Shields Even Better Than Face Masks at Preventing Coronavirus Infection?
• Growing Body Of Evidence Suggests Masks Protect Those Wearing Them, Too
• Fauci urges Americans to wear goggles for added COVID-19 protection

Discussion

Reddit — Growing Body Of Evidence Suggests Masks Protect Those Wearing Them, Too

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