Coronavirus Qld: 3D printed face masks delivered in war effort

A Queensland 3D printing house is one of the local manufacturers who have turned their expertise to the state’s “war effort” against coronavirus.

A HI-TECH 3D printer farm has switched from bespoke projects to cranking out thousands of face shields for frontline health workers, as the state’s tech sector rushes to supply essential goods for the battle against COVID-19.

The Arc Hardware Incubator hooking up with Queensland Health was one of nearly 200 Queensland companies that have joined the home front fight against COVID-19, retooling, reworking or creating essential items needed in the state, Manufacturing Minister Cameron Dick said.

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The tech firm and others had been tasked with creating 3000 face shields in three weeks but managed it in just five days, founder and chief executive officer Victor Vicario said.

The firm digitised a design for the face shields then shared it out to other 3D farms – including universities, tech companies and small manufacturers – with capacity close to 20,000 a day.

The 3D printers create a headpiece by melting and shaping plastic from a spool of plastic yarn, creating it layer by layer.

The disposable, see-through face shield is laser-cut from sheet plastic- even including sheets from overhead projectors – then clipped on to the headpiece.

Mathilde Desselle of Metro North Hospital and Health Service’s Herston Biofabrication Institute and Victor Vicario of Arc Hardware Incubator inspect 3D-printed face shields. Picture: John Gass/AAP

The Queensland Fightback series, in partnership with the State Development Department, is celebrating the way manufacturers are innovating in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to help their fellow Queenslanders.

Mr Vicario said 3D printing was not a long-term solution, but had plugged the gap in essential supplies while traditional major manufacturers swung into production.

Metro North Herston Biofabrication Institute’s Mathilde Desselle said the 3D push was being expanded to other medical supplies.

She said the community had come together to smash the target of 3000 face shields in three weeks, and was working on ways to harness Queensland skills to defeat the killer virus.

The first of the shields are expected to be issued in coming days.