Ways to Get Involved with PPE Production for SARS-Cov-2

We all know what’s going on in the world. Our inboxes and news feeds are full of an endless stream of SARS-CoV-2 news. Rather than letting anxiety or boredom consume you, we encourage you to take an active stance and get involved.

Nearly every institution is short on personal protective equipment (PPE). Many people in our communities must continue to work, such as health care workers and grocery store employees. They need to be properly protected while doing their jobs. Organizations around the world are fiercely competing to purchase available PPE on the market. For many, the only practical approach is to rely on local PPE production.

The embedded systems community is full of multi-talented makers who can assist with this effort. We hope the resources below inspire you to get involved.

If you have other ideas for ways to contribute or other design recommendations, comment on the article or fill out the contact form. We will keep this article up to date with the community’s recommendations.

Find or Create a Local Group

Many communities have already launched coordinated efforts to produce PPE for local hospitals and nursing homes. Search for a group in your area and see how you can contribute. If you can’t find one in your area, consider starting a group. Here are some examples of local groups:

If you’re coordinating efforts, we recommend focusing on nursing homes and smaller medical facilities. Larger hospitals are getting much of the attention, while vulnerable nursing homes are more often left behind.

If there are unutilized maker spaces or hardware labs in your area, contact them about using their facilities for PPE production. If you have 3D printers at your company’s office(s) that are not currently being used, see if you can use them for PPE production.

Do you feel like you lack the necessary "maker" skills? You can still find many ways to help:

  • Handle communication with vendors, volunteers, and partner organizations
  • Collect donations
  • Gather supplies
  • Distribute PPE

Sewing Homemade Masks

Homemade masks are not as protective as N95 and surgical masks, but they are certainly better than nothing. Consider producing a surplus of masks for individuals in your community. The Czech people, for instance, put up "mask trees" with free masks for the taking.

Here are designs and instructions for face masks:

Check out this article for information on the filtration effectiveness of different household materials.

For more information on masks and mask production, we recommend the Czech #masks4all campaign.

No-Sew Masks

If you can’t sew, don’t worry. If you have access to a handkerchief and two headbands, you can make a mask.

3D Printing

If you have a 3D printer, we recommend producing the Prusa Protective Face Shield. This design has been through two verifications with the Czech ministry of health. Prusa also provides ideas for effectively coordinating on PPE production.

Other useful designs for healthcare workers and your community can be found here:

Please see this article for information about filament selection.

One of our readers notes that 3D printed "N95" masks are junk. If you are interested in producing masks, see the previous two sectoinsectionss.

Non-3D Printing Designs

Not everyone has access to a computer. Here are designs that can be made at home with materials from a hardware store:

Finding Supplies

If you need materials in bulk, please contact us. We will do our best to work with our extensive network of supplier contacts to find what you need. We can, for example, put you into contact with suppliers for button elastic that can be used to produce the Prisma face shield.

A Note on Safety

If you want to help, take necessary protective steps:

  • Use clean equipment, gloves, and masks when producing PPE
  • Do not use the wrong filament, and don’t save filament for infill – there is no use in producing designs that will break
  • Consider creating a "holding" area that can be used to allow products to sit for 5 days at room temperature to kill any potential viruses
  • If possible for your material, put products in an oven at 70°C for 30 minutes
  • If you have a UVC light source, expose products to UVC light at 254nm for 30 minutes or longer (data comes from SARS-CoV)

For more information on virus survivability on different materials, see Aerosol and surface stability of HCoV-19 (SARS-CoV-2) compared to SARS-CoV-1.

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