Saturday, May 2, 2020
by EMF Cory
Volunteers across the country have been making face shields and other DIY personal protective equipment for medical workers using a unique tool, the home 3D-printer. In Dayton, Ohio, a group called Make It Dayton is no exception. Since March, the group has produced and delivered over 3,000 3D-printed face shields to local hospitals. It was through these donations that Ben, a nurse with a local medical flight crew, reached out to Make It Dayton with a unique challenge. Due to their flight helmets, the flight nurses were unable to use the typical face shields and other facial PPE that Make It Dayton had been creating, and in fact, they had yet to find any source for shields that were compatible with their flight gear.
Rising to the challenge, Make It Dayton leveraged the makers on their team to design a new flight-helmet compatible, 3D printed disposable face shield. Incredibly, Make It Dayton was able to design, prototype and receive approval from Ben to begin producing the face shields within about one week from being contacted. Two designs have now been created to fit the two most commonly used flight helmet models. Those designs have been shared for free online through the 3D printing website, Thingiverse.com (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4307004 and https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4327436), so that other makers across the country can help their local in-flight medical workers. Due to the unique demand and lack of supply for flight helmet mounted PPE, Make It Dayton has transitioned their entire effort to fulfilling this critical need. Collectively, the group is printing about 200 face shields per day, and will keep doing it as long as there is a need.
Make It Dayton is a grassroots group whose mission is to support and grow a community of hobbyists, craftsmen, DIY-ers and life-long learners in Dayton, Ohio. Since 2015, Make It Dayton has hosted the annual Make It Dayton Festival at Carillon Historical Park, bringing 60+ hands-on exhibits covering everything from building model rockets to glass blowing, robotics to candle-making, in a family friendly festival celebrating the Makers among us. Make It Dayton also hosts smaller maker and STEM meetups throughout the year, and coordinates volunteer efforts, like this one, where makers can contribute to the local community. For more information follow @MakeItDayton and @MakeItDaytonFest on social media, or visit makeitdayton.org.