The Landmark Does its Part — 3D Printing Parts for Personal Protection Equipment for the West Texas Medical Community
The Digital Heritage Research Lab is part of the Lubbock Lake Landmark regional research program. I oversee projects in the lab including 3D modeling of research objects using photogrammetry, and 3D printing to create interactive objects for exhibits that visitors can touch. I was contacted about joining a consortium as part of Texas Tech’s efforts to support the regional medical community during the COVID-19 pandemic. University research scientists and other regional partners have been using their 3D printers to make personal protection equipment (PPE). I was asked to 3D print shield brims and ear guards.
I have been using a fused depositional modeling (FDM) printer to print the shield brims. In FDM printing, thermoplastics are heated through an extruder and deposited on a build plate, layer by layer, creating a 3D model. The FDM printer in the lab, a Lulzbot Taz 5, has a large build plate to accommodate the size of the shield brim part. After some tinkering, I am now able to print two shield brims per day using ABS plastic with a raft surrounding the model.
A raft is an extra layer of plastic that is deposited around the 3D model to ensure the model properly adheres to the build plate during printing. I had been having difficulty with build plate adhesion, and my initial prints were warped since the model was moving during the print. Now using a raft, I am able to reliably print the shield brims each time. In future 3D prints of the shield brims, I may experiment with stacking several of them on top of each other to get more than one at a time.
I have been using an inverted stereolithography (SLA) printer to build the ear guards. In SLA 3D printing, liquid resin is cured using a laser to harden the plastic layer by layer. The build plate is dipped into a vat of resin, and each layer is hardened in the manufacturing process. SLA printing is very high resolution and extremely accurate, but our Form 2 SLA printer has a smaller build plate than the FDM printer. The shield brim model was too large to print within the SLA printer, however, the SLA printer was ideal for printing the thin ear guards.
In my first 3D print of the ear guards, I was able to print two at a time when they were oriented horizontally, however, after some experimentation, I am now able to print seven ear guards at a time with the models oriented vertically.
I will continue to print both the shield brims and ear guards as needed for the Texas Tech 3D printing consortium, which is greatly helping the west Texas medical community with much-needed PPE supplies during the pandemic.
