After having the first batch of 78 halos for face shields shipped up to Genesis Plastics to get turned into shields for the medical community I just finished the second and last batch of this design to go up there. Another 65 are going to head up there tomorrow, for a total of 143 head bands going to medical pros in Colorado.
65 done and ready to ship Got that close on the last halo
I received confirmation from Genesis plastics that the halos I made and were delivered on Monday of this week were QA’d and already in the hands of medical professionals in Colorado. I also found out they are ramping up getting them injection molded coming up so they don’t need the 3D printed ones after this batch.
Shields or Masks
Next I am going to look at what is being asked for by the medical community and fire up the printer to produce what other parts may be asked for. I have been avoiding face masks, but it seems there is a huge demand for them in the groups I am working with, and I have a bunch of PLA plastic for them.
I did a test with PLA and didn’t like how it fit/felt, but it seems one of the less desirable aspects of PLA in most uses is a perk here. PLA deforms and molds easily at around 60C (~145F), so people are putting PLA masks in a hot water bath then forming them to their face for a comfortable seal. Its innovative I’ll give people that!
I am also going to work on TPU based masks and some multi material masks.
I am not 100% set on printing face masks yet as there are many questions about them, and as a product that is actually the final safety barrier for a medical pro, I am not 100% sure 3D printed and super stiff masks are the thing I want to be doing. So I am also going to be researching other shield designs and asks such as the new Prusa RC3 version, and the NIH based shield design.
There is a still a huge ask from the medical community for involvement of makers of all kinds – get involved, find your local maker groups on social media or other avenues!
Leave a Reply