Families are using 3D printers to make face shields for health care workers in desperate need of protective gear.
The shields are worn over face masks to give an added layer of protection because they also cover the eyes.
Chuck Kozlowski of Anne Arudel County, Maryland, first bought his 3D printer to make toys for his grandchildren. Now he’s using it to make shields.
Each shield takes about an hour to print.
“What stuns me the most has been the response from the hospitals,” Kozlowski said. “It’s been, ‘This is great; we need this.’ I’ve been really shocked.”
He spends 16 hours a day making the shields, while juggling his job as a NASA engineer.
He said the project is personal. His sister is a nurse in California.
Health
“They’re really getting slammed by the coronavirus, so we’re trying to make a little bit of difference to a very big problem,” he said.
In Rockville, Montgomery Blair High School student Arjun Oberoi is pitching in with his printer.
“It’s great knowing that I’m helping the people on the front lines,” he said.
Oberoi is on his school’s robotics team, which has won a world championship. He’s putting those award-winning skills to use.
“Being one of the few people who actually has the resources to help the community with these 3D-printed face shields is something that I feel like I should be doing,” he said.
Kozlowski and Oberoi say they are looking for more help with making shields and covering the cost of materials.
