3-D Printed Protective Gear

Prototyping and producing reusable personal protective equipment for health care and law enforcement professionals in southeast Wisconsin

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Full Project Name:3-D Printed Protective Gear: Solution to anti-viral mask shortages in hospitals and law enforcementPrimary Community Organization:Concordia University, Inc.Award Amount:$313,792.00

Award Date

April2020

Project Duration:8 months

Project Description Narrative:

The COVID-19 global pandemic has caused a worldwide shortage of the heavy-duty N95 masks and eyewear utilized by health care professionals to prevent contamination. Locally and worldwide, protective gear supplies are dangerously low. In response, Concordia University of Wisconsin, working with a broader southeast Wisconsin consortium, has mobilized its Makerspace Lab to begin printing masks and eye protection to fill the production gap and support front line health care professionals and law enforcement first responders. Through this award, project partners will scale up the ability to produce reusable mask prototypes and protective eyewear, delivering them to medical professionals and law enforcement first responders in areas of high need in southeast Wisconsin.

Additional community partners: Children's Wisconsin, Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Pediatrics, Milwaukee Police Department, HUSCO International, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Bridge to Cures, Roddy Medical

Outcomes & Lessons Learned:

Brought together a diverse community of companies and people to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) for essential workers and first responders
Established partnerships with HUSCO and Roddy Medical alongside the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Children’s Wisconsin, Mr. Holland’s Heating and Air, Aprilaire, UW-Madison and more for sourcing materials, testing materials, production, and distribution
Produced more than 5,000 face shields and 2,000 masks, distributing to recipients in various sectors of the community including education, nursing homes, churches, and law enforcement during the project period
Leveraged partnerships to continue production of masks beyond grant period through the Concordia Community Mask Project, HUSCO Maskforce Project, and Roddy Medical TOGETHER Mask Project likely through fall 2021
Dissemintated information about the project through numerous local news stories, including on TMJ4, CBS58, Fox6, WISN12, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and BizTimes