By ALEXIA KADOTA-BROWNER
In a time when Long Island hospitals are lacking critical personal protection equipment (PPE) to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic, junior Quentin B. knew just how to help.
After seeing pictures of medical workers creating makeshift PPE, Quentin decided to put his knowledge of 3D printing to good use and started printing 3D face shields from his home. Using open-source instructions from his printer’s company, Prusa, Quentin immediately got to work.
The printing process was not a quick one. Quentin said, “It took over 2 hours to print each shield, which was composed of two pieces, and the printer ran for the next 6 days round the clock.”
Quentin donated the first batch of face shields to a local supply drive organized by Nassau County Legislator Joshua Lafazan. “The shortage of PPE on Long Island was dire. Our office received calls from nurses who were re-using masks and/or didn’t have gowns” said Lafazan. “I am glad that thousands of Long Islanders stepped up in a huge way to address this service” he added. The supply drive was a huge success, receiving donations of over 5,000 masks and other PPE items.
After his first donation, Quentin decided to transition to a new face shield design by 3DVerkstan. The new design reduced printing time to 40 minutes and was significantly easier to assemble, since it was a one-piece design. The new shields were donated to Syosset Hospital, Northwell Health and Bristol Assisted Living in Jericho. In total, he printed and donated over 100 face shields.
The second design Quentin used was much more time effective. “Initially it took me 6 days to print the first batch of 20. Afterward, as a result of the more efficient design, I produced more than 20 shields a day,” he said.
Now that large companies, such as Apple and Boeing are mass-producing face shields, Quentin has transitioned to printing headbands designed to reduce pressure on the ears from wearing masks for extended periods of time.
Legislator Lafazan expressed his excitement about youth community service and said, “Our generation has more ability to explore, invent and discover than any generation that came before us, and we are using it for good.” He suggests finding a local area in need and getting to work to solve the issue. “Think globally, act locally,” he said.
Upon hearing that his face shields were distributed to nurses in need and that they were delighted with their new PPE, Quentin said, “I was grateful to be able to do something to help.”