How 3D printing and social media tackles the PPE shortage during Covid – 19 pandemic

Abstract

During the recent Covid-19 pandemic, additive Technology and Social Media were used to tackle the shortage of Personal Protective Equipment. A literature review and a social media listening software were employed to explore the number of the users referring to specific keywords related to 3D printing and PPE. Additionally, the QALY model was recruited to highlight the importance of the PPE usage. More than 7 billion users used the keyword covid or similar in the web while mainly Twitter and Facebook were used as a world platform for PPE designs distribution through individuals and more than 100 different 3D printable PPE designs were developed.

The role of 3D printing during COVID-19 pandemic: a review

“…One of the main reasons that made AM an important tool during the pandemic is the great number of users around the world [19], many of them very specialized, innovative and creative. During the last decade, the decrease in the cost of processors and the expiration of patents made desktop 3D printers as low-end-machines [22,23].…”

“…A second reason is that people who have a 3D printer do not require CAD-design knowledge to produce parts. 3D printable files can be easily found in internet via 3D printing open-design repositories, makers hubs or even at social media [19], only requiring a desktop printer to start production.…”

“…During the pandemic, data sharing has rapidly increased to spread initiatives and solutions as an attempt to fight off the virus. From this perspective, social media [19,33], company websites [46,47] and file repositories have played a main role in sharing data [23,33,35]. As social distancing was the main strategy for most governments to reduce transmission rates, people at homework increased social media use [19].…”

“…Various devices have been produced, such as face masks, face shields, test swabs, door handle attachments, valves [13][14][15][16][17] etc. and are being massively shared by social media [18,19]. In this context, additive manufacturing (AM), commonly named as 3D printing, has emerged as one remarkable fabrication process because of its accessibility and flexibility to quickly produce complex and monolithic parts or even mechanical systems [20][21][22].…”

“…Another reason is that people involved with AM are open-mind, creative, with interdisciplinary relationships and applications. Therefore, AM technology allows the user to easily produce parts directly from a STL file format (designed in a CAD system), which can be easily found and shared in makers hubs or even at social media [19]. Finally, during the last decade, because of patent period expiration, desktop 3D printers have become accessible as low-endmachines for common people by open access projects that dramatically reduced their costs [22,23] and the entrance barriers for low range AM equipment.…”