Among the many knocks against 3d printers and 3d printing has been that they are largely not especially useful. At least not at the hobbyist level. It is as arguable that decoration, customization and personalization is extremely useful.But, in the wake of the corona virus and the exposure of a poorly situated emergency response, many 3d printers are being used to try and help out.
I've been printing face shield frames, trialing a couple of different models until deciding on one that has the most upside and least downside. Want to see it? Its an Aegis remix that incorporates a slick locking mechanism on the front. Add a transparent sheet of plastic and a rubber band and this face shield is very ready to go.This evening's print is a first attempt at making a mask, a mask with a place to hold a filter to help protect against viral inhalation. With some foam tape and suitable filtration material (I've heard some folks are cutting up hepa filter vacuum bags), I'll have made a very usable 2nd level PPE. The fact that it'll look cool is partly why 3d printers are cool.
Being able to embellish the hell out of stuff for fun is part of why 3d printing is fun.
