3D printing community offers Australian hospitals, doctors a lifeline in coronavirus fight
The 3D printing community is rushing to get behind Australia’s frontline health workers, preparing to create vital medical protective gear to fight COVID-19.
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A grassroots movement to support frontline health workers is taking off in Australia, with more than 200 3D printing enthusiasts, industrial designers, and manufacturers banding together to produce protective equipment.
And the national collective could become a vital lifeline in the fight against COVID-19, with plans to create up to 50,000 protective products a week.
Open Manufacturing Alliance Australia co-ordinator Simon Turner said the group formed from a number of online 3D printing communities, all keen to assist medical professionals get the personal protective equipment (PPE) they needed to safely treat coronavirus patients.
“Australians have always been agile and innovative,” Mr Turner said.
“Over the last 15 years we’ve lost a lot of our manufacturing ability but we haven’t lost the ability to create and design and be agile.”
Together, the group could create as many as 50,000 items of protective equipment weekly, Mr Turner said, thanks to a mix of 3D printing hobbyists and manufacturers with 100 machines at the ready.
The Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital has already placed an order with the group for 3000 protective visors, he said.
It’s understood New South Wales help has asked UNSW to produce 2500 of the products using 3D printers.
Face shields were the most commonly produced and accepted item from 3D printers so far, though experts say the technology could also be used to produce respirator valves or ear protection in future.
The Australian effort mirrors the work of groups around the world, with a number of European and US universities and 3D printing firms pivoting their focus to produce vital medical equipment.
One of the Aussies to heed the call to action is engineer and IT consultant Matthew Driver, who is using his four 3D printers to create bands for protective visors.
Mr Driver said he discovered the international movement through chat groups and was eager to assist health workers.
“There’s a massive community groundswell of individuals printing and getting together to help,” he said.
“It is unique. I’ve never seen anything like this volume of products produced.”
Mr Driver said he was currently co-ordinating the creation and delivery of 100 face shields to Canberra’s Calvary Hospital but local creators could produce more shields than they required.
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He urged medical organisations to get in touch with the group, and deliver feedback on what products they needed and when they needed it.
“Everyone is chipping in and saying ‘I can do this’,” Mr Driver said. “The trick is that we need to manufacture them before they’re required. We can’t just leave it for a couple of weeks.”
Mr Turner said the 3D printing group was also keen to support all parts of the medical profession by supplying items to health workers in smaller practices at a low cost.
“We really want to help pharmacists, and GPs and dentists,” he said. “We’ve got all these makers waiting for local medical facilities to call out for help.”
Mr Turner said medical teams who needed equipment should register at the group’s newly established website, oma-aus.com.
Originally published as 3D printing community offers Australian hospitals, doctors a lifeline in coronavirus fight