Displaying 41-50 of 74 results for

Materialise Founder Says 3D Printing Industry Should Pride Itself on Helping People

Entrepreneur Ken Church Strives to Print the Impossible

18 years old and already a CEO

As personal protective equipment became scarce for hospitals at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, two doctors had an idea to convert snorkeling masks to be used as emergency filtering face masks. PTC and others helped bring their vision to reality.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a surging need for medical and personal protective equipment. But it’s not just enough to make the needed equipment and supplies, you also have to get it to where it’s needed most. For rural America, resources are limited, medical facilities are few and far between, and the infrastructure to supply them is lacking.

While the pandemic was starting to gain a foothold in the U.S., a call from the Texas National Guard seeking assistance lead Essentium Inc., a Texas-based manufacturer of 3D printers and engineering-grade material, to develop a 3D-printed mask for to help solve the shortage.

When the COVID-19 pandemic ended spring athletic seasons around the world and orders dried up for Michigan-based mouthguard manufacturer Akervall Technologies Inc., the company found a way to help frontline workers while preserving employment.

With an urgent shortage of PPE caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a team of faculty, staff and students from Oklahoma State University College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology’s (CEAT) ENDEAVOR lab quickly worked to prototype and manufacture protective masks and face shields that were donated throughout the state of Oklahoma.

Last month, when Flavio Volpe put out a call to auto parts makers to assist in the production of medical supplies, he wasn’t convinced that the industry would be able to pull it off. Yet, in the past three weeks more than 165 companies stepped up to volunteer.