Labs use 3D printers to create face shield parts for health care workers
Rachel Sharpe holds up bags holding bands for face shields made with 3D printers on the CU 麻豆影院 campus. Image credit: Rachel and Lauren Sharpe.
As coronavirus cases mounted in Colorado, several dozen 3D printers on the CU 麻豆影院 campus roared back to life to make personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers on the front lines of the crisis.
A small team of volunteer engineers and students took on the project, making the plastic bands that hold together face shields, plastic barriers that cover the eyes, nose and mouth, which can help keep nurses and doctors from picking up infections.
鈥淭he supply chain for a lot of this equipment has broken down. We鈥檙e trying to help fill that gap,鈥 said Mark Borden, a professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering.
The effort is part of a that advises makers across Colorado on how to create safe and effective PPE using high-tech tools like 3D printers and laser cutters.