Purdue Students Making 3D-Printed PPE

(photo courtesy of Purdue University Northwest)

Students and faculty from Purdue University Northwest and Purdue University Fort Wayne are volunteering to support the need for Personal Protective Equipment for healthcare workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Students from PNW’s College of Technology, along with faculty and staff, are using six of the university’s 3D printers to produce parts for face shields. The university says its students are maintaining social distancing practices and have networked the printers on PNW’s Hammond and Westville campuses so they can monitor the progress from home.

PNW’s printed face shield parts will be donated to Valparaiso-based InHealth ambulance services operating throughout northwest Indiana and New York.

Purdue University Fort Wayne says three of its students are working solo shifts at the university’s 3D print lab. The university says the team has been printing respiratory protection equipment attachments for Fort Wayne-based Parkview Health.

“I love the fact that 3D printing can be used to help in such an important way,” said Noah Peterson, a junior majoring in computer engineering technology.

The PUFW engineering students are working with provided files with exact specifications for the parts, and says the team has already produced 16 hood assemblies and 12 hose connector pairs.

The project began with engineers from L3Harris, a global aerospace and defense technologies company. L3Harris teamed up with individuals and groups capable of quickly preparing 3D printers to meet the unique need.

The university says its first batch of finished parts are being delivered to L3Harris today, and all of its 3D printed PPE will ultimately go to Parkview Health. Once the team fulfills the initial parts needs, the univesity says it already has a prototype for face shields to continue the efforts.