Faculty and staff members at Loyola University Maryland are using 3D printers and laser cutters to create face shields for hospitals in the Baltimore area. The initiative was launched by Open Works, a makerspace in Baltimore, and We the Builders, a group of makers in Baltimore who build sculptures from 3D-printed materials.
Matthew Treskon, technology librarian; Billy Friebele, MFA, assistant professor of fine arts; and Yanko Kranov, laboratory manager and affiliate professor of engineering, are using a pattern created by Prusa Labs in the Czech Republic to 3D print materials needed to build CDC-level recommended face shields.
Loyola’s involvement with creating face shields started when Jennifer Sullivan, program coordinator for Natural and Applied Sciences, heard about the initiative by Open Works on the local news. Loyola faculty and administrators worked to bring the initiative to Loyola in a matter of days.
Plastic parts and face shields created by Friebele and Treskon are dropped off at an organized location. Open Works takes the supplies and coordinates the configuring by We the Builders and distribution to local hospitals including LifeBridge Health, Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the University of Maryland Medical System.
In addition, face shields created by Kranov are donated to the Sinai Hospital and LifeBridge Health.
For more information about 3D printing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), visit the We the Builders website.
