Students involved:
Purpose:
On March 13, 2020, our school, along with all others in Southern California, closed in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Infrastructure that couldn’t afford to close (law enforcement, firefighters, medical personnel, etc.) put the lives of their employees at risk to sustain the national economy. When our school shut down, we saw an opportunity to step out of our comfort zone and do all that we can to protect essential workers. From the news, we knew there was a national shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). In response, we decided to 3D print shields for local frontline workers in our community.
Unfortunately at the time, no one from Project Global owned a 3D printer, and with the economy shut down, no one was able to get one. We asked the charter school Western Center Academy if we could borrow one of their 3D printers. We told the vice-principal our idea, and he believed in us. He let us borrow two of his school’s 3D printers, and later two more from a neighboring highschool Tahquitz.
At first, one shield took 1½ hours to print. However, Arnauld was able to modify the shield’s gcode file to bring the time down to 30 minutes. With the entire team printing, we could print over 4 dozen shields per day. Throughout the course of May, June, July, and August, Project Global has printed and donated over 5,000 face shields to state doctors, veterinarians, hospitals, schools, businesses, and health care workers. As of August, we are going global and donating shields to medical personnel in India, the United Kingdom, and Columbia.
Unfortunately at the time, no one from Project Global owned a 3D printer, and with the economy shut down, no one was able to get one. We asked the charter school Western Center Academy if we could borrow one of their 3D printers. We told the vice-principal our idea, and he believed in us. He let us borrow two of his school’s 3D printers, and later two more from a neighboring highschool Tahquitz.
At first, one shield took 1½ hours to print. However, Arnauld was able to modify the shield’s gcode file to bring the time down to 30 minutes. With the entire team printing, we could print over 4 dozen shields per day. Throughout the course of May, June, July, and August, Project Global has printed and donated over 5,000 face shields to state doctors, veterinarians, hospitals, schools, businesses, and health care workers. As of August, we are going global and donating shields to medical personnel in India, the United Kingdom, and Columbia.
Watch the Slideshow!