Coronavirus: People across the world are 3D printing face shields amid crisis

As coronavirus continues to spread worldwide and healthcare workers are facing a shortage of medical equipment, including face masks, a couple in Syracuse, US have turned their 3D-printer business into a manufacturing site for face shields. According to international media reports, Isaac Budmen and Stephanie Keefe, through their company Budmen Industries, are printing visors, which are worn by healthcare workers. Medical facilities in US are facing a dire shortage of N95 masks and other personal protective equipment and in a bid to help them, independent 3D printers are stepping to meet the demand. 

The face shield is made of a piece of polyethylene sheet which is attached to the visor to act as a protective barrier between healthcare workers and patients. The polyethylene can either be sanitised or replace. However, they aren’t a proper replacement for a proper N95 mask, but they act as a physical barrier that can protect healthcare workers faces from external fluids. 

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3D face shield

Similar to Syracuse couple, who are currently printing 50 shields per day, Michael Perina, who runs 3D writing shop in Staten Island, also decided to start writing face shields. As per reports, Perina launched a GoFundMe, raising $10,000 for printing materials. He reportedly said that he is now equipped to produce up to 4,000 shields per day. 

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According to international media reports, a group of engineering teachers and students in North Carolina have also raised more than $52,000 to print the face shield. Using 3D printers at the Charlotte Latin School and the University of North Carolina, the group plans to manufacture 10,000 shields. Ian Charnas, the co-founder of Sears think at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, reportedly started researching face shield designs that his university innovation lab could help manufacture. 

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