It all started this time in Asturias. Then it was followed by a group from Barcelona, another from the Basque Country, Zaragoza, Madrid, Seville, Valencia … So throughout Spain. They are the Coronavirus Makers , a virtual community against Covid-19 made up of more than 15,000 fans of 3D printing.
For a week they have been producing acetate visors, masks and the first prototypes of assisted respirators with their home printers.
To communicate with each other they use the social network Telegram. They are highly organized, but they have been divided into 40 working groups, classified between autonomous communities and provinces, to tackle piece by piece problems of supply of sanitary material . A technical pandemic that hospitals and security forces have been suffering for days throughout the country.
Health personnel with the visors manufactured by Coronavirus Makers in Murcia.
Health personnel with the visors manufactured by Coronavirus Makers in Murcia.
Each participant from home downloads the drawings of a validated prototype, they are open source designs, and can manufacture a complete visor in just over three hours.
The makers use PVC in this model for the headband that is attached to the head. While the transparent sheets, from the forehead to the chin, are made of PETG (the same material with which water bottles are made). However, given the urgency of the situation, some users have also had to choose to equip the models with binding sheets as a defense against the virus.
“There is no campaign to raise funds, we are not asking for money . It is a citizen initiative to provide solutions and aid,” said César García , the co-founder of Makespace Madrid , on his YouTube channel La Hora Maker on Monday night .
The also advisor to the Cotec foundation confirmed that the organization is trying to shield itself against possible scams that have emerged these days on the internet about the project. “There are people who have asked for bitcoins on the network supplanting my Telegram profile. We are in a state of alarm, now the first thing is to alleviate the lack of materials and fight face to face against the coronavirus. On our website is all the information and we highlight that we are not asking anyone for money, “Garcia added.
Several ‘makers’ working in a network from their homes.
Several ‘makers’ working in a network from their homes.
To control possible fraud in the network, more than 30 people supervise the actions and the integration of followers in the work groups. In fact, each new entry must be previously endorsed by two regular members of the sector.
In recent days, several industrial component manufacturing companies, universities and VET schools are also offering their collaboration in a selfless way to this community . The objective is to increase the stock of products in record time and improve the quality of the projects.
