Hello Builders!
In response to the growing need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers during this time of crisis, We the Builders is partnering with local organizations Open Works and Innovation Works in Baltimore, Maryland USA to coordinate the supply chain, production, and delivery of protective face shields that can be used on the front lines.
The first step for each face shield is a 3D printed frame structure - and we need your help to print them!
Prusa Labs in the Czech Republic designed an open-source face shield that can be 3D printed and attached to a sheet of plastic. In combination with lower-grade surgical masks, face shields can provide the CDC-recommended level of protection for health care workers and first responders interacting with suspected COVID-19 carriers.
You can download the files to print at home, and send them to Open Works’ team of volunteers who will assemble the shields with a plastic visor and elastic band. Finished face shields will be distributed to hospitals and healthcare organizations in the Baltimore metro area as a first priority. As supply grows, we hope to be able to send further out!
Anyone who meets ALL of the following criteria:
If you can meet these criteria, read on for instructions!
*- More detailed instructions on printing and sanitation will be provided once you are assigned a part ID.
Sounds easy enough, right? Just a few hours of your time can help save lives and prevent the spread of COVID-19 by providing this vital protective gear for healthcare workers who need it most! Sign in to get started, and THANK YOU!
We The Builders is hosting this build using our collaborative platform for part-tracking and file hosting for community builds. We were founded at a Baltimore Hackathon in 2014 to make collaborative 3D printed sculptures.
Innovation Works is handling interfacing with health care providers, orders, and distribution. Innovation Works is a non-profit organization reducing Baltimore’s neighborhood and racial wealth divide by teaching and accompanying members of disinvested communities to build and own successful social enterprises.
Open Works is collecting finished parts, sanitizing, assembling, and packaging them for distribution. Open Works is a makerspace in Baltimore making tools, technology, and the knowledge to use them accessible to all.
Prusa Labs is a 3D printer manufacturer based in the Czech Republic that designed and published the face shield pattern we are using under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial 4.0 license.
Nation of Makers is a national nonprofit supporting America’s maker organizations through community building, resource sharing, and advocacy, within the maker movement and beyond.
We would love to stay in touch! To keep some pressure off of the staff focusing on assembly, packaging, distribution, and healthcare interfacing, please join the Open Works Slack channel. Room: #makersunite
This is a great way to share build and print information, crowdsource sanitation protocols, and aggregate parts for drop off if folks can’t get to Baltimore.
Want to share your awesome work? Please tag us on social media with the hashtag #makersunite and we will follow YOUR amazing contributions.
We the Builders is all about mobilizing groups of printers to build things together. Our platform was made for this kind of collaboration! We’re stepping up in this time of need, but we also make art sculptures. If you want to get involved in future builds, sign up for our mailing list, or consider donating to support our work.
Thanks!
Additionally, please consider making a charitable donation to support Open Works. Your contribution will cover the costs of materials and to re-hire furloughed part-time Open Works staff members to fabricate and assemble PPE. Open Works is a 501(c)3 organization and all donations are tax-deductible.
https://www.openworksbmore.org/support-us/
Check our FAQ
Wow! We are simply blown away by everything you have accomplished. This has been a very different project for We the Builders, and we are so impressed by what this community can do!
Your work has truly been making an impact in Baltimore. Below is an update from our partners at Open Works who conceived of this project and who have been doing the hard work of assembling / sanitizing / packing / distributing and so much more!
Based on the success of this pilot, we're working with Open Works to migrate this project to their own site. There, not only will they be able to continue this important work, they will also have a nice surprise for all the builders who have contributed. We'll announce here when the new site available!
We're sending you this email to alert you to this change. If you're reading this message, that means you're not currently subscribed to our project announcement email list. If you would like to be alerted of future We The Builders projects like the 2600+ sculpture we build with Mythbuster's Adam Savage, please sign up here for our project announcement email list http://eepurl.com/RfDID and join our Facebook group.
Thank you so, so much for being a part of this effort. Please keep taking care of yourselves and each other!
— We the Builders (Jen, Marty, & Todd)
Will Holman, Executive Director of Openworks says:
Hello!
Thank you so much for being a part of Makers Unite! It is one of the most unique projects ever hosted on We the Builders. As of today (4/14/2020) we are 21 days into accepting parts, and have collected an astounding 6,368 so far! We have produced 7,625 complete face shields from both crowdsourced parts and a CNC-ed design developed by the Open Works team (available as an open-source download here). So far, we have moved 6,500 face shields into the hands of first responders and healthcare workers.
This project has gotten so big that we have decided to migrate it off of the We the Builders platform and onto an independent site so we can better manage supply chain and demand.
The demand and distribution side is being handled by our partners at Innovation Works. Face shields are sold at cost through a sales portal here. Costing has been released transparently here. We are charging for the shields so that we can:
- Employ people to disinfect, assemble, pack, and ship shields
- Ensure that workers are covered under workmen's comp and disability insurance
- Ensure quality control and a chain of custody that the hospitals trust
- Recover cost of materials
- Be able to return some filament and other rewards to volunteer printers at home.
Which brings us to the most exciting part! The ink is still wet on a partnership between Open Works and MatterHackers that will return a filament dividend for all volunteer printers, along with some other rewards that we are still working on getting made. We the Builders has released 1,000 more part numbers while we work on migrating the site and registration data, and we'll let you know when the new site is ready and how to claim your rewards.
Have more questions? Check the FAQ here or join the builder's Slack workspace here -- use channel #makersunite.
Last, but certainly not least, THANK YOU! As maker-powered PPE efforts have popped up all over the country, Makers Unite has emerged as one of the most efficient, scalable, and high-quality efforts -- and it's all because of your dedication, resolve, and courage. Thank you for making this build amazing, and we can't wait to say thanks in person sometime (hopefully) soon!
Our thanks to all the individuals who are making this project happen!
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