Covid-19 Face Shield Production
At the start of the Covid-19 outbreak in March, we were approached by a local GP to see if the MK Makerspace could assist with the production of 3D printed face shields for people who were unable to obtain them – especially elderly care workers, pharmacists etc, after her son had started with his own 3D printer. This was something that we were considering to do, and pushed us to do it. Through a lot of time, dedication and organization, we managed to produce several thousand face shields for the local community. To do this we needed funding – many of us already had our own 3D printers, and those that would have otherwise sat idle in the space during the lockdown were also taken to peoples homes to allow the parts to be printed – often through the night. Many people provided their own raw materials. However, many of the members were not able to fund the cost of the raw materials yet had the expertise to produce the required components. This could be due to being retired, being made redundant, furlough etc. To this end, we applied to the Milton Keynes Community Foundation to their Covid-19 emergency response fund. A very quick turn around saw is receiving a grant of £1600 towards our anticipated material costs. This enabled us to produce the face shields for the community quickly as we did not have to wait for moulds etc to be made in a full commercial situation, nor to setup large supply chains. This was all handled locally by Enrique. Because of this, we were able to fulfil the gap in the requirement quickly until mass produced items could be made and distributed. How many lives did we affect? It is impossible to say. Just preventing one single infection allowed our healthcare system, the NHS, to not be overwhelmed, nor for someone to be infected in the exponential effect. As such we are very proud to state: This work has been supported by funding from MK Community Foundation (Link below – https://www.mkcommunityfoundation.co.uk/) This would also not have been possible without our members taking the time, effort and sometimes financial contribution on top to achieve this mamoth task.