Let's Work Together!
Do you have a 3D printer? We received a huge shipment of .01" (10 mil) PETG super clear sheets from our sponsor 3M. This is enough to make over 11,000 face shields. We can only 3D print about 1,200 visors per week. Together, we can put thousands more face shields into the hands of people who desperately need them before Minnesota hits the COVID-19 peak. If you have the ability to 3D print visors at home, work, or school, but cannot find or afford face shield plastic, we can help each other.
How We're Helping
To support the current need of health care workers, KnightKrawler is running a 3D printing operation to produce face shields.
- Using 24 printers from 4 schools in our district
- Operating 10 hours/day, 6 days/week
- Rate of 1000 shields/week
Request Shields
Do you work for a hospital or health care facility in need of face shields?
We would love to donate some to you!
Who We've Donated To
- Abbott Northwestern
- St. Joseph's Hospital
- Allina Health
- Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center
- UnityPoint Health Des Moines
- Iowa Methodist Medical Center
- Children's Hospital
- Mercy Hospital nurses
- United Hospital Labor and Delivery
- Minneapolis VA Health Care System
- Labor/delivery and neonatal ICU
- Ambulance crews
- Ramsey County Public Health workers
- Hennepin County Sheriff's Department
- Brooklyn Park Fire Department
- Mounds View Police
- Ramsey County Correctional Facility
- Autism Society of Minnesota
- Nursing and Assisted Living Homes
- Local dental offices
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Funding
KnightKrawler has received a commitment from the Mounds View Schools Education Foundation to purchase up to $5000 in materials for this project. The team also qualified to compete at the FIRST World Championship competition this year. We had more than $5,000 budgeted for this trip, which is now available due to the cancellation of our season.
Though we are not currently seeking further funding for this project, if you would like to support KnightKrawler in our robotics endeavors you can donate through our PayPal below. Please understand, we are not using this pandemic as a fundraiser. There are many other organizations that need your donations at this time. If you love what we do, please consider supporting us in the fall once robotics resumes.
KnightKrawler Robotics is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All contributions to the team are tax deductible. Please contact us first if you would like to make a large donation or need a W9 tax form.
Project Sponsors
The Mounds View Schools Education Foundation has donated $5,000 to be used for supplies.
Mounds View Public Schools has loaned us 3D printers and space to run our production shop.
How to Run a Shop
If you would like to run a face shield production shop but are in need of 3D printers, we recommend contacting your local school district. They likely have 3D printers that are going unused. If 3D printers are not an option for your group, there are some face shield designs available online that do not require 3D printing. You can also find a number of face mask designs for those that have a sewing machine.
Keeping your volunteers safe:
- Ask volunteers to take their temperature before arriving to a shift so they don't come with a fever
- Discourage anyone who has been on a trip in the last two weeks from participating
- Discourage anyone who has a high risk family member at home from participating
- If you don't feel well, don't participate even if you think it is only allergies
- Everyone should wear a facemask
- Observe the social distancing guidelines of keeping 6 feet apart as much as possible
- Wash hands frequently. Gloves could also be an option for those who want them, but avoiding face contact is more important
- Disinfect keyboards and mice between shifts
- Only have 3-4 volunteers working at a time (depends on the number of printers you're running)
- To comply with most schools' YPP (youth protection policies), remember to schedule enough people to avoid a situation where there is one student with one adult, unless they are family members
3D Printing Information
KnightKrawler is printing the Stratasys visor. This visor has been approved by the FDA and VA. KnightKrawler chose this design because it works with any clear plastic with a 3-hole punch. This makes it possible to replace damaged shields with basic office supplies without any special tools. Another popular design is the Prusa design, modified for the American 3-hole punch. This design is more durable, but takes 2-3 times longer to print. There are many options available and they are easy to find on the internet. If you are using a design that has not yet been approved by the FDA, please contact the facility to which you plan to donate, to ensure they will accept the design before you print them.
We have found that we can tweak the configuration of our printers and slicers to dramatically improve print speed. Many printers/slicers are configured for quality and detail. By adjusting your layers, and speed, you will see noticeable improvements. We have cut the time of our Stratasys prints down from 87 minutes to 56 minutes, per visor. PLA can typically print faster than other 3D printer filaments. You can take advantage of this fact by trying speeds above the default. PLA does not hold up as well to strong solvents, compared to PETG, but is more cost effective, prints faster, and has been approved by the FDA.
- Download the Stratasys face shield design
- Learn about 3D printing face shield headbands
- Download the .dxf file for cutting the clear plastic shields
We are here to help. If you need advice on setting up a shop, 3D printing or anything related, please email covid19@team2052.com
In the News
Irondale Robotics Team 3D Prints Face ShieldsWe visited Team 2052 KnightKrawler last week, one of many High School Robotics teams across the state working on printing face shields for health care workers.
Posted by CTV North Suburbs on Monday, April 13, 2020