Plastics and 3D printers that usually make go-kart parts are now being put to use to provide Personal Protective Equipment for medical professionals across Australia.
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Chris Preen runs TPR Engineering from his home in Orange but has turned his attention to supplying face shields and ear protectors to medical workers who are finding the items difficult to source due to demand caused by coronavirus.
"A lot of the work is coming from people like optometrists," Mr Preen said.
He said due to coronavirus the majority of PPE was going to hospitals so specialists in other medical and health fields were finding it difficult to get the items.
"[On Monday] we sent our first shipment to New Zealand, to a chiropractor in New Zealand," Mr Preen said.
The items have also been posted to specialists and practitioners across Australia including the Northern Territory and Tasmania.
Mr Preen said he is a tool maker by trade and his business uses CAD design and he makes a variety of 3D printed go-kart parts.
However, after hearing about the difficulty medical practitioners were having sourcing PPE he decided to diversify.
"The form is an open source design, somebody else designed it and then released that design for free," Mr Preen said.
He said the designs do not require any tools and the face shields use an A4 clear plastic cover sheet that can be bought from office suppliers, making them easily replaceable, and each frame takes 40 minutes to print using a 3D printer.
Mr Preen said the ear protectors are placed at the back of a head with hooks at the sides for the elastic on masks, so they don't damage a person's ears.
He said the ear protectors take about 20 minutes to print and they are made using a softer plastic that he usually uses to make cable and fuel line retainers for go-karts.
"Last week was flat out, we had five 3D printers running 24/7, it's been pretty crazy," he said.
Mr Preen said he promoted the use of the ear savers about a week ago online and by Tuesday morning he had made 320 face shields and between 400 and 500 ear savers with 200 of them going to Erebus Medical, part of Erebus Motorsport, to distribute to healthcare professionals.
"Everyone else has been an individual, that's been the majority of orders," he said.
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