Alcast Company & Employee Zach Bell Donates 3D Printed COVID-19 PPE for Illinois
3D Printed Face Shield Frames
Alcast Company, Alcast employee Zach Bell, Mike Lynch, & Staples have all teamed up to provide 3D printed PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to help fill the void of PPE during the 2020 COVID-19 (Corona Virus) Pandemic. Mike Lynch, a Chicago-area resident and friend of Zach's, saw a dire need for face shields at ten Chicago-area safety net hospitals. Mike then heard that a local college's Maker Space was using their 3D printers to make face shields. As a hobbyist 3D printer, Zach wanted to help. Mike then connected Zach to Dr. Daniel Ivankovich, orthopedic surgeon and leader of Chicago's inner city Bone Squad, to get the ball rolling on face shields. Zach then worked with Ami Dean, Territory Account Manager in West Central IL & Eastern IA, from Staples to get clear overhead projector transparency sheets to use as lenses. He also worked with McMaster Carr to get elastic cording to use as head bands for the face shields. Alcast Company is devoting its financial resources to cover the cost of the transparency lenses, elastic cording, and shipping. Alcast Company and all members of the Alcast family are grateful to the heath care workers & first responders who are out there fighting the war against COVID-19, and we want to do our part to help keep them safe.
At the same time, Zach also learned of a need for 3D printed surgical mask ear protectors. These ear protectors prevent first responder and medical personnels' ears from being injured by the elastic bands on face masks. These ear protectors are placed on the back of the head, with the elastic straps of the mask attaching to the plastic band instead of around the ears. Since April 3rd, Zach's two desktop FDM 3D printers have run nearly around the clock, cranking out face shield frames and ear protectors for those on the front line of the COVID-19 battle.
With Zach's help, Alcast will be sending weekly shipments of face shields to Dr. Daniel Ivankovich and the ten Chicago-area safety net hospitals, as well as supplying local first responders where needed. With the help of Zach's wife, Tiffany Bell, to date, over 200 ear protectors have been provided to multiple local medical staff and first responders, with more being printed every day! If you have a 3D printer and are interested in 3D printing PPE to help out with the COVID-19 outbreak, check out the files in the links below:
Face Shields
https://www.library.ucsf.edu/news/ucsf-3d-printed-face-shield-project/
https://www.library.ucsf.edu/news/ucsf-3d-printed-face-shield-repository/
Ear Protectors
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4249113
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4269061