(WHDH) — Hundreds of design engineers from across the world have offered to donate their 3D printing skills and equipment to help produce vital hospital supplies amid the evolving coronavirus pandemic.
A public document titled “3D Printer Crowdsourcing for COVID-19” is quickly gaining steam on Twitter, garnering nearly 200 signatures from people who are willing to share their 3D printers, talent, or design expertise with hospitals that are experiencing supply shortages linked to the COVID-19 response effort.
A Bostonian is among the many who are eager to assist in the production of respirators, valves, masks, and other essential materials, according to the document.
A hospital in Italy was able to save the lives of many coronavirus patients by 3D printing valves on reanimation devices.
“Additive manufacturing may be able to play a role in helping to support industrial supply chains that are affected by limitations on traditional production and imports. One thing is for sure though: 3D printing can have an immediate beneficial effect when the supply chain is completely broken,” a post on 3D Media Network said. “That was, fortunately, the case when a Northern Italian hospital needed a replacement valve for a reanimation device and the supplier had run out with no way to get more in a short time.”
The coronavirus has killed more than 6,500 worldwide, according to an estimate from Johns Hopkins University.
https://twitter.com/michalnaka/status/1239469812796887042?s=20
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