COMBATING COVID-19: WORKFLOW AND DISTRIBUTION OF THREEDIMENSIONALLY PRINTED FACE SHIELDS
Keywords:
Covid-19, fused deposition modelling (FDM), personal protective equipment (PPE), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Abstract
On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the “coronavirus disease 2019” (Covid-19) a global pandemic. This novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic outbreaks emerged in December 2019 from Wuhan City in Hubei Province, China. It spread to the rest of the world [Guo, Cao, Hong et al. 2019]. This pandemic has led to the shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) at a global level, especially in Malaysia. This paper presents the alternative process of producing face shields using fused deposition modelling (FDM) in three-dimensional (3D) printing. The 3D file for the face shield was obtained from an online portal, the file ‘sliced’ using Cura software, 3D printed using Ultimaker 2+, and the finishing includes attaching a
transparent PVC rigid sheet with holes punched along its side. A quickly fabricated and low-cost solution, this face shield proved to be feasible to be used for Malaysian front liners in combating the pandemic.
