Milton Keynes man Duane Litchfield is helping provide key workers with protective face shields, which he is producing at his home. Using his 3D printer, the IT Manager at accountancy firm Foxley Kingham, is printing the shields day and night after hearing about the shortage in PPE equipment.
The shields he produces are dispatched to a central distribution point where they will be assembled (with the elastic fastenings) and sent to the hospitals with a shortage.
He’s been using a design by Josef Prusa who designed and produces a hugely popular 3D Printer range. This design is being used by many groups and individuals around the UK. There are strict key guidelines to adhere to regarding safety and hygiene.
Each mask takes around 2.5 hours to print, so Duane has been able to print masks whilst he leads the IT team at Foxley Kingham, ensuring they continue to deliver for clients as they work from home. Duane is using PETG plastic, which has the benefit of being able to be sterilised which means the masks can be used repeatedly.
3D Crowd UK are a central point for the shields to be assembled and from there they manage the distribution of the finished shields to the desperate NHS departments across the UK.
Once Duane has a batch of shields ready, he contacts distributer DPD who are collecting 3D Crowd masks free of charge to help the initiative.
Zeeshan Hussain at FK said
“We are delighted that Duane is helping efforts to keep the frontline NHS workers safe during the Covid-19 pandemic. He’s an innovative person and we’re proud of his work to support this great initiative.”
Duane Litchfield explained:
“I usually use my 3D printer to make little Squirrel and Groot figures for my granddaughters to play with, it’s great to be able make a contribution to help keep the amazing NHS workers safe.”
Donations can be made to help the logistics at 3D Crowd here.