Corona: 3D Makers Help Hospitals, Print Face Masks and Test Swabs

The coronavirus outbreak in the United States has caused a surge in demand of medical supplies, so hospitals are looking at 3D manufacturers for help in mass-printing face shields and nasal swabs.

3D printing manufacturer Tangible Creative in New York is working with Columbia University’s library volunteers as well as MakerBot – a company that makes 3D printers – shifting their services to focus almost 100% on printing face shields for hospitals. They’ve managed to up their daily print from 60 to 500 face shields a day within a week, while working on gathering a coalition of makers to produce even more face shields.

“What we’re trying to do is get to a point where we can churn out 10,000 a week, if possible,” says Nevaris A.C., cofounder and CEO of Tangible Creative.

Another example of a 3D printing company helping hospitals is Massachusetts-based FormLabs, which has shipped over 60,000 3D printers across the globe while additionally creating face shields. The company is now 3D printing 100,000 COVID-19 test swabs a day.