Stratasys Responds to COVID-19 Pandemic by Ramping up Production of 3D-Printed Personal Protection Equipment
March 22 2020 - 5:33PM
Business Wire
Initial goal of 5,000 full face shields by
March 27 with more scaling possible
‘Our workforce and partners are prepared to
work around the clock,’ says CEO
Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) has announced a global
mobilization of the company’s 3D printing resources and expertise
to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, spanning its Stratasys,
GrabCAD, Stratasys Direct Manufacturing and partner network with
donated printing capacity across all regions. The initial focus is
on providing thousands of disposable face shields for use by
medical personnel.
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Stratasys and its partners are producing
several thousand face shields with 3D-printed plastic frames.
(Photo: Business Wire)
In the United States, Stratasys has set an initial goal of
producing 5,000 face shields by Friday, March 27, at no cost to the
recipients. This includes both a 3D-printed frame and a clear
plastic shield that covers the entire face. The company will have
the ability to scale to an even faster rate of production.
Any 3D printing shop in the U.S. that wishes to help print
plastic frames, can fill out an online form to be invited to join
the effort. The company is also posting the full face shield
printing and assembly instructions by Monday, Mar. 23 on its
COVID-19 response page.
One of the world’s top hospitals has told Stratasys they use
1,530 disposable face shields every week even without the surge
created by COVID-19 and is down to six days’ inventory on hand,
with the pandemic still building momentum.
Stratasys said medical technology leader Medtronic and
Minneapolis-based Dunwoody College of Technology will provide
support for the plastic shield material.
“We are humbled by the opportunity to help. We see additive
manufacturing as an essential part of the response to the COVID-19
global epidemic,” said Stratasys CEO Yoav Zeif. “The strengths of
3D printing – be anywhere, print virtually anything, adapt on the
fly – make it a capability for helping address shortages of parts
related to shields, masks, and ventilators, among other things. Our
workforce and partners are prepared to work around the clock to
meet the need for 3D printers, materials, including biocompatible
materials, and 3D-printed parts.”
Stratasys has scores of professional 3D printers available to
apply to the challenge of producing shields at scale, particularly
across its Stratasys Direct Manufacturing facilities, which are
based in Eden Prairie, Minn., in and around Austin, Texas, and
Valencia, Calif. A number of other large manufacturers and
educational institutions with production grade 3D printers have
donated their capacity to help. These include Wentworth Institute
of Technology in Boston, Queensborough Community College in New
York City, and the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah,
Ga.
Stratasys has set up a web page where organizations can request
3D printed products to help with the crisis, offer 3D printing
capacity, or request 3D printers or material for medical- or
safety-related purposes. Visit www.stratasys.com/covid-19.
The company is also planning to respond to the crisis in
additional ways. An initiative led by anesthesiology residents of
Massachusetts General Hospital called the CoVent-19 Challenge is
planning to ask engineers and designers to help develop a new
rapidly deployable ventilator and other innovative solutions to the
ventilator shortage, and Stratasys plans to support the challenge
and promote it via its GrabCAD community of more than 7 million
professional designers, engineers, manufacturers and students.
Stratasys is a global leader in additive manufacturing or
3D printing technology and is the manufacturer of FDM®, PolyJet™,
and stereolithography 3D printers. The company’s technologies are
used to create prototypes, manufacturing tools, and production
parts for industries, including aerospace, automotive, healthcare,
consumer products and education. For more than 30 years, Stratasys
products have helped manufacturers reduce product-development time,
cost, and time-to-market, as well as reduce or eliminate tooling
costs and improve product quality. The Stratasys 3D printing
ecosystem of solutions and expertise includes 3D printers,
materials, software, expert services, and on-demand parts
production. Online at: www.stratasys.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200322005032/en/
Stratasys Corporate & North America Aaron Pearson
Aaron.pearson@stratasys.com (612) 716-9228
Europe, Middle East and Africa Jonathan Wake / Miguel
Afonso, Incus Media stratasys@incus-media.com +44 1737 215200
Mexico, Caribe Carlos.ramirez@stratasys.com 00+52 (55)
15349791
Asia Pacific and Japan Alice Chiu
alice.chiu@stratasys.com
Brazil, Central America and South America
Erica.massini@stratasys.com +55 (11) 2626-9229
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