Volunteers help fill PPE gap with 3D technology
THE high-ceilinged workshop in Darmstadt, Germany, is usually open to anyone — from hobbyists trying new machinery or techniques to high-tech startup workers tinkering with prototypes.
During the coronavirus pandemic, however, it has become a hub for dropping off plastic parts made by volunteers and using them to assemble face shields sent to health workers across Germany and as far off as a refugee camp in Greece.
The so-called German MakerVsVirus network — extending into Austria and Switzerland thanks to the shared language — consists of 7,000 enthusiasts who use their own 3D printers or other gadgets to produce much-coveted medical gear.
With medical workers worldwide scrambling for protective shields, masks or gowns due to a huge shortage spawned by the coronavirus pandemic, tech geeks have stepped in to help fill the gap.
“For me, it started with five face shields for my uncle’s medical practice,” said physicist Nico Neumann, who converted the drop-in workshop into the MakerVsVirus hub. “Then my grandfather’s care service wanted some, and then we noticed there was this network in Germany that was ready to mobilize. We started out as a lot of private individuals and lone wolves who wanted to help.”
By late April, Neumann and his team had delivered 1,600 shields to users in the region.
The figure is even more staggering if the contributions from all 180 MakerVsVirus hubs across Germany are taken into account — some 100,000 face shields have been sent out in the past few weeks.
“This situation is really overwhelming for everyone,” said Stefan Herzig while offloading dozens of plastic parts fresh from 3D printers at his firm outside Darmstadt. “It’s a nice feeling being able to help, even if my contribution is relatively small.”
The parts were laid on tables at the workshop’s entrance bearing neatly printed labels for new and fulfilled order documents, freshly delivered plastic parts and assembled face shields ready for delivery.
Each face shield consists of a flexible transparent sheet anchored at the top with a 3D-printed plastic part and secured around the head with an elastic band. Another 3D-printed plastic part at the bottom helps the mask keep its shape.
Although some homemade components are fragile or misshapen, those up to standard are sturdy enough to withstand disinfection and repeated use.
Beyond helping medical and other institutions, a shipment of face shields has even reached the notoriously overcrowded and vulnerable refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.
The online organization brought together “all these different characters” adept at finding technical solutions to create much-needed equipment, said Neumann.
He has to organize his voluntary work around a full-time job developing optics.
“I’m not getting much sleep or having much of a weekend,” Neumann said.
With more professional firms increasingly stepping in to fill large orders for face shields, the former hobbyists are now tackling small batches and more specialist items.
“In this environment where almost all the work is done in our spare time, we can respond more flexibly than if you had to convert a whole company’s production,” Neumann said.