3D Printed Medical Equipment - COVID 19

BACKGROUND:

In 2015, I started my career as a Maker.  By making little spare parts, fixing my wife's sandals, an assortment of clock projects that never seemed to quite work, I fell in love with 3D printing and modeling.  

The sudden rise of COVID-19 virus has our medical industry, and even medical equipment manufacturers, on their heels.  Thanks to a law school buddy of mine, Zack Marker, I became aware of an open-sourced model to print out medical face masks and equipment. With the incredible help from the talented Sam Grotewahl, a good buddy from high school with superior engineering talents (his day job is engineering naval vessels) we soon began to 3D model and design an assortment of medical equipment, with our primary project being the Medical Face Shield as seen below.

Here are some sample mock-ups of the 3D printed Medical Face Shield:



Here are photos of what we have already completed:


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THE MISSION:

So here I am in my garage, actively social distancing while sitting next to an industrial grade 3D printer that has been dormant for the last month.  Time to put this thing to work.

We based our initial time estimates based on other versions of the visors (which we have re-designed several times since).  We are now able to print approximately 12 visors a day on a single printer.  With the help of Sam's printer, we have increased that production to approximately 18-24 total visors a day.  Printing the additional parts (the face shield reinforcement) decreased this number, but we hope to average at least 18 complete visors per day. Our re-designs have increased our capacity by over 35%. That increase, along with the incredible demand we have received for these items, has led us to increase our total ask from $1000 to $5000.

Here are some helpful articles explaining this effort:

https://www.3dnatives.com/en/prusa-medical-shields-covid-19-200320205/

https://grabcad.com/library/coronavirus-flu-reusable-mask-1

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OUR ASK:

Our initial $1000 goal was met within 24 hours.  As of March 29, 2020, our total donations are just short of $2000. Based on the high demand and orders already received, we have increased our goal to $5000.  This decision was made with multiple factors in mind, specifically as it relates to our hope to continue to increase our production capacity (i.e., continue to perfect the production process, but more importantly, to buy more printers!).

Since starting this campaign, local healthcare facilities and first responders have informed us that they are in DIRE need of these supplies while manufacturers adjust to meet demand. They hope that will happen in the next 4-6 weeks. In the meantime, these products will be going out to folks THAT NEED THEM NOW, as well as those still in need once manufacturers catch up with demand. Until then, we plan to continue production, 24/7.

We continue to be flooded with requests from local and nationwide medical facilities and providers that are in DIRE need of medical equipment like the face shields.  Due to your support, we anticipate that we will easily be able to provide at least 300-400 completed shields (100 higher than our previous goal) and have them completed distributed in the next 3 weeks. 

But that is only the start.  Increased production = more shields, quicker.  We will continue to move forward with our fundraising and efforts with those goals in mine.

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VENDORS AND COSTS:

For reference, here are the vendors we have been purchasing from:

Shipping:

We are pleased and fortunate to have the support and partnership of Peter Alfaro, Manager of the Midway Post Office location of the United States Postal Service.  Mr. Alfaro and USPS will be assisting us with the shipping of any equipment sent to medical providers and first responders.  We look forward to updating you all on that partnership as we move forward.

Filament:

https://www.amazon.com/Sindoh-Filament-Compatible-millimeters-Diameter/dp/B01HD9A8GG/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=sindoh+filament&qid=1585164701&sr=8-3

https://www.ebay.com/itm/261464565916

Acetate/Mylar Sheets:

 https://www.amazon.com/Pieces-Stencil-Material-Template-Stencils/dp/B07S9R41WS/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=acetate%2Broll%2B12x12%2Binch&qid=1585186427&sr=8-5&swrs=25D3AA6E27EF7C459D621D1B43A6DF93&th=1

Elastic Rolls:

https://www.amazon.com/MYUREN-Buttonhole-Elastic-Stretch-Elasticity/dp/B07KCTVP61/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=3%2F4+elastic+band&qid=1585186680&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G69A0T4/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Plastic Fasteners:

https://www.grainger.com/product/GRAINGER-APPROVED-Split-Push-In-Rivet-4GXK8

For every $1500 pledges, this provides us with the resources to print approximately 320 masks at $4.69 a mask (see updates for breakdown of materials cost, retail price for these face shields seem to range from approximately $3.50 - $5.00 each).  Please also note that we are trying to increase and decrease these figures, respectively.

For additional reference, here are the costs associated with production so far: 

1 Roll of Filament ($30)

= 12 shields
= 14 reinforcements

$2.50 per shield

1 Pad of Sheets ($16.99)

= 15 shields

$1.13 per shield

1 Order of Foam Tape ($12.88)

= 27 shields

$0.47 per shield

100 Meters of Elastic Cord ($88.70)

= 300 shields

$0.30 per shield

1050 Plastic Fasteners ($68.25)

= 300 shields

$0.22 per shield

Velcro Strips (50 feet = $21.55)

= 300 shields

$0.07 per shield

USPS Shipping

TOTAL PER SHIELD = $4.69 per shield (#s based on 300 shields)

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OUR PLEDGE:

Any contributions in excess of our goal will go to a senior or COVID-19 treatment-related non-profit to ease the burden of those most impacted by this unfortunate crisis.  Should we need to purchase an additional printer, any such purchase will be contributed to a local San Diego high school once the project is completed.  Should we be lucky enough to get through this virus quickly, as we all hope is the case, my Firm (The Law Offices of Daniel Schneiderman) and I will personally contribute any remaining filament, printers, or other materials purchased for this project to a non-profit or local high school as described above.

IMPORTANT: Though we are currently getting in more orders than we can "immediately" fill (we have received requests for over 600 visors as of March 29, 2020), if you have any connections to hospitals, clinics, non-profits, or know of anyone that needs a medical mask or medical equipment of any kind, please let us know.  Depending on how this progresses, we hope to begin production of other medical equipment as it becomes necessary.  If you have any ideas or connections, please share with us!!! Also, if you would like to volunteer to help us with production, do not hesitate to let us know!

Thank you again for taking the time to read and helping us with this project!  We will keep you updated on our progress as we move forward!


- Your 3D Printing Crew (Dan, Zack, Sam, Matt, Vicki and Kai)


DISCLAIMER: These donations are being made for the sole purpose of alleviating the demand on supply for the included type of medical equipment.  We are not and do not claim to be medical professionals, nor are we affiliated with the practice of medicine or the professional manufacturing of medical equipment in any way.  Though the included equipment was manufactured with care and caution for the circumstances for which it has been provided, they were not produced in a "sterile" environment. Please consult with the appropriate authority, as well as your facility's administrator and/or supervisor, regarding best practices when using or re-using the donated equipment.