Pitt Makerspace Creates Open Source Face Shield to Fill Local PPE Need

PITTSBURGH (April 7, 2020) — The shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) caused by the spread of the coronavirus has inspired a fleet of makers in the community to pitch in and make items like masks and face shields to be used in hospitals. The Pitt Makerspace at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering is no exception—a team there has partnered with a local printing company and the UPMC 3D Print Lab to create a single material plastic shield, and they have made the details free for anyone to use.

The project was led by Brandon Barber, the design, innovation and outreach coordinator in the Department of Bioengineering at Pitt, and Dan Yates (BSME ’19), innovation project coordinator for the Pitt Makerspace. The Pitt team worked closely with Ken Mattheis and Steve Reed from the Pittsburgh-based printers Reed & Witting to develop the design, and they utilized input from medical professions to ensure the shields would meet their needs.

Single material face shield on a mannequin head.

The shields are made of a single piece of material and are then folded into place to form the shield; because of this, can be made with any thin, clear plastic and do not require any other materials, like foam or elastic. They were designed with high-volume die-cutting in mind, and many commercial print shops already have the equipment and materials to make thousands of these shields in a short period of time, according to Barber. Reed & Witting is set to make as many as 5,000 shields a day.

“We were inspired to act when we saw the shortage of PPE in our community and realized how impactful something like this could be,” said Barber. “The Makerspace is all about finding innovative designs that positively influence the world around us, and we hope that’s what we have been able to do with this project.”

You can find the open source face shield here.

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The Pitt Face Shield has not been medically certified for use as PPE. The creators make no warranties of any kind (express or implied) relating to accuracy, usefulness, usability, marketability, performance, or otherwise of the content release.