A collective of Peterborough-area makers has come together to produce protective face shields for front-line workers at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC), as well as other healthcare workers dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The group includes Steve Blair and Dylan Radcliffe (who is also president of Peterborough Field Naturalists), who have set up a crowdfunding campaign to help purchase materials for the production of the face shields.
Other members of the collective include Kathryn Bahun, Emerance Baker, Gianne Broughton, Dwayne Collins, Megan Gamble, Bec Groves, Graeme Marrs, Don Murphy, and Rob Southcott.
The group is using an open-source design published by Prusa Research, a 3D printing company based in Prague in the Czech Republic. The company has already printed and donated more than 12,000 shields to healthcare professionals in the Czech Republic and has received requests for 90,000 more.
The company went from design to prototype in three days, and they are continuing to improve the product.
Anyone with a 3D printer can use the design to produce the face shields, and maker communities from around the world have come together to make them.
“It really is incredible,” Prusa Research founder Josef Prusa told Sarah Goehrke of Forbes on Saturday (March 28). “It is just eight days now, and our whole planet, all the 3D printers are printing face shields. I would never have expected 3D printing to act so quickly. It is wonderful.”
In the Peterborough area, local volunteers are working to produce the three components required for each face shield.
They are using laser cutters to accurately cut clear plastic PETG sheets (PETG is commonly used to manufacture water bottles) for the shield component, 3D printers to create the hard plastic brackets that hold the shield away from and curve it around the wearer’s face, and elastic band material that is cut and sewn to attach to the plastic brackets allowing the face shield to be comfortably worn.
According to Radcliffe, they can produce one face shield every 15 minutes.
Hey everyone, we've got a live GoFundMe. Right now we're producing around one face shield for @PRHC1 every 15 minutes. We are donating our machines and our time, but we can't afford all of the materials. Help us out if you can. https://t.co/NVq2vDBYls pic.twitter.com/NctwuqFwAG
— Dylan Radcliffe (@StewardsNotes) March 30, 2020
Everyone involved is donating their personal equipment and time to the project. Donations through the crowdfunding campaign will be used to reimburse volunteers who have already paid for materials out of their own pockets, and will also go towards purchasing more materials so the group can continue production for as long as is necessary.
Any unused donations will go to the PRHC Foundation to support new equipment and technology at the hospital.
For now the group is focusing on supplying face shields to PRHC, but they feel confident they could produce other types of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) if requested.
VIDEO: 3D Printed Face Shield (RC1) – Assembly Guide
In addition to the volunteers involved, supporting organizations and companies include: Artspace; B&B Game Designs; Black’s Distillery; Filaments.ca; Harco Enterprises Ltd; Lulzbot; Peterborough Tool Library; Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland and Clarington Catholic School Board; Stitch & Witch; Trent University Library; and Watson & Lou.
As of the date of this story, the group has raised over $3,200 of their $5,000 goal. To donate, go to www.gofundme.com/f/peterborough-ppe-initiative.
