The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning Innovation Spaces team is a part of a campus and community-wide effort to 3D print a variety of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for local area health professionals.

The CITL TechHub has teamed up with MakerGirl (whose Ultimaker 3D printers CITL uses) to 3D print face mask adjusters. From April 2nd through April 23rd, the team has produced 2408 face shield adjusters. Once the campus finalizes the design for an N95 mask, the team will switch to creating the parts necessary for the mask. 

To comply with the stay at home order, CITL TechHub staff relocated the 3D printers to their homes so they can efficiently print as many adjusters as possible. Not only are CITL Tech Hub staff printing shields, other CITL employees, who own 3D printers personally, have joined in on the cause.

During this process, CITL has also collaborated with Teaching Associate Professor Leon Liebenberg in his course Mechanical Engineering 270: Design for Manufacturability. The work shared with the class shows a real-world example of how 3D printing impacts the world. It has also provided the opportunity to share tips and tricks for designing and printing for consumer-level 3D printing with the students.

Fore more information on the CITL TechHub and 3D printing services, visit the CITL Tech Hub website. You can also read more about the COVID-19 Response project at https://makerlab.illinois.edu/covid19-response.