{"id":58976,"date":"2020-04-17T03:54:49","date_gmt":"2020-04-17T07:54:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/?p=58976"},"modified":"2020-04-14T10:05:26","modified_gmt":"2020-04-14T14:05:26","slug":"engineering-students-making-3d-printed-face-shields-for-healthcare-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/04_17_2020\/engineering-students-making-3d-printed-face-shields-for-healthcare-workers","title":{"rendered":"Engineering Students Making 3D-Printed Face Shields for Healthcare Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

From his home a few minutes away from The University of Toledo campus, Nick Michael has cranked out 120 face shields and donated them to hospitals throughout the Toledo area to help medical personnel battling the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

The graduate student studying mechanical engineering is using two 3D printers and a laser cutter as part of his ad-hoc assembly line set up in a small room next to his bedroom.<\/p>\n

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Michael<\/p><\/div>\u201cPeople need help, and I have the time and the materials,\u201d said Michael, whose co-op working experience is in the automotive industry. \u201cIt\u2019s the right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile from his home office in Sylvania, fourth-year electrical engineering student Cameron McCaskey has built 84 face shields using his 3D printer.<\/p>\n

Both engineering students say cleanliness and hygiene are the top priority throughout the entire process as they use 3D printers to make the frame \u2014 somewhat similar to a frame for sunglasses \u2014 and then attach a clear plastic shield to the arches.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found the medical design specifications on the internet because I want to help,\u201d McCaskey said. \u201cIt takes about 25 minutes to 3D print one frame. And then I use a three-hole puncher to make holes in the transparent sheet to connect it to the frame.\u201d<\/p>\n

They order the clear screens online, finding you can buy about 100 for $15.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wash my hands before I start and wear a visor,\u201d said Michael, who averages about five frames an hour using both 3D printers. \u201cWith the frames, I do an acetone dip. It melts the outer surface and closes them up so there\u2019s no gaps. Then I wash them with soap and water.\u201d<\/p>\n

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McCaskey<\/p><\/div>Though this is their first foray into fabricating medical supplies, they say all engineers are problem-solvers and have the skills to follow the guidelines for personal protective equipment during this public health emergency.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have a misconception about 3D printing,\u201d Michael said. \u201cThe files are already out there. You load them onto a pre-built slicing program. It\u2019s not that hard to run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael and McCaskey are donating their face shields to the local chapter of Masks for Docs, which is led by UToledo medical students. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am always proud and impressed by what our engineering students accomplish in their classes and on their own time,\u201d Dr. Mike Toole, dean of the College of Engineering, said. \u201cThe students\u2019 work epitomizes what we are trying to accomplish in the College of Engineering in instilling an entrepreneurial mindset. Students focus not just on problem-solving, but on creating value for a customer. In this case, the customers are our regional healthcare workers, who deserve our thanks and our help. Our initiatives in entrepreneurial-minded learning are made possible thanks to Tom and Betsy Brady, founders of Plastics Technology Inc., and our recent partnership with the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two students in the UToledo College of Engineering are using 3D printers to make face shields for area healthcare workers during the pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":812,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,1,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58976"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/812"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58976"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58981,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58976\/revisions\/58981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}