3D printing technologies are an important method of producing emergency personal protective equipment, such as masks, protective shields or mask adapters. 3D printing technology allows to quickly respond to the needs of hospitals and to distributed production anywhere – at home, fablab or office.
However, 3D printing technology is the most efficient when it can be combined with other technologies (such as laser cutting for protective shields). Mayku, an English manufacturer of desktop vacuum former – Mayku FormBox, started his own project against the COVID-19 pandemic, where 3D printing technology is closely connected with vacuum forming.
Since the start of the COVID outbreak, a few members of the Mayku community have banded together to develop protective equipment for doctors and nurses on the front lines of the pandemic. They found, that using only 3D printing technology can slow down the production of masks . Due to that fact, Mayku’s engenieers have been using the FormBox to rapidly replicate shells that they can then integrate with a filter. Now, their mission is to spread the idea of making safe for users, protective masks using 3D printing technology and vacumm casting.
The creators of the idea are currently looking for volunteers who will help them develop the project. They are collating all the users who are able to supply masks along with how-to-guides in this microsite. The document on website is a hub aimed at centralising their efforts and helping them connect with local health institutions in need.
Now, there are 12 people that have put themselves forwards as available for mask making. You can track the progress of their work in the documents they provide or their dedicated websites. But for this to make an impact, Mayku needs more people involved.
If you’re worried that you don’t have the proper device to help – you shouldn’t. Mayku are giving anyone wanting to use the FormBox for mask making a huge discount. As they said, it would be great to galvanize the positive intentions of the 3D printing community in a way that can actually provide a scalable local solution to batch production of masks.