PPE made by 3D Printers

There are many 3D printers that are idle that could instead be printing free 3D designs for PPE such as head bands for face-shields.  When feasible and practical, orders to Gear4Covid.com from hospitals and medical clinics for products made by 3D printers would be directed to public institutions, such as universities, libraries and schools, that have 3D printers and are offering to make PPE products for free or at cost. 

There are a wide range of 3D printable designs are available for free.  For example, shown at this link are links to several 3D product designs that can be downloaded for free and produced by a range of 3D printers, see: Free 3D product designs for 3D Printers.

3D printed products that are ordered in substantial volumes may be shifted to production by one or more injection molding companies.  For example, some injection molding companies can create molds within a few days and start producing products at a much lower cost and higher volume than could be completed using 3D printers.  There are added benefits of producing products by an injection molding process.  For example, the surface of an injected molded product in not nearly as porous a typical 3D printed projects so the former is more resistant to bacteria growth.

If needed, products produced by 3D printers can be sealed and/or finished by various methods.  For some examples, see: Ultimate Guide to Finishing 3D Printed Parts by Fictiv.  One example sealing coating for 3D printed products is called Epoxy Penetrating Sealing and Coating Resin System (BJB Enterprises Part #: TC-1614 A/B), which is an unfilled, low viscosity epoxy resin system designed to seal porous to semi-porous substrates.    In addition, some materials used in 3D printing can be annealed through heating, which can help seal the pin-holes in the surface of a typical 3D printed product.