This kid is all right

For one determined teenager, 3D printer has become a tool to aid health workers

Normally spring marks a time of transition for David Simmons, from the basketball court to the baseball diamond, from playing point guard to manning second base. But this year was unlike any other, for him and everyone else, because of the coronavirus pandemic.

With sports cancelled and school in his small Illinois town of Monmouth moved online, the 13-yearold shifted the focus of his free time. He read news reports about health-care workers treating patients with COVID -19, the disease the coronavirus causes, without adequate personal protective equipment such as masks and face shields. An avid user of 3D printing technology, he sought a way to put that passion to use helping the nation at a time of need.

The goal set him off on a quest that, after hours of research and tinkering, succeeded. He printed his first batch of adjustable plastic headbands that hold see-through face shields in early March and has been printing them as fast as he can.

“Cass County Health Department wants to personally thank David, a 13-year-old boy, who donated face shields to our office,” read a Facebook post by the first recipients of the shields. “What a terrific young man!”

Seeing posts like that, and pictures of doctors and nurses wearing the shields, deepened his passion to keep printing.

“I love that because that shows me that all my work is actually doing good for people who need it,” he said. “That’s the best part of it.”

The worst part? The seemingly constant snags and malfunctions he encounters with the printer. His printer is in the office of his family’s house that he jokingly calls “Savin’ Lives Headquarters.” He and his three brothers bought it with money they’ve saved from small businesses they started: hand-knitting hats and mowing neighbours’ lawns.

When everything is running smoothly, the printer produces eight headbands in 24 hours.

“I have to do a lot of troubleshooting and modifications,” he said. His mounting frustration can be seen in file names he’s sent to the printer: iwouldlikethisto work, iwantthistoworkalot, letshope, pleeeeeeeease.

But technical difficulties have proved to be only temporary detours as he continues his daily quest to produce more shields. The satisfaction only deepens when things work out in the end. In this case, that means seeing his shields protecting the faces of health-care workers.

“I know all the time and struggle that went into it,” he said.