Kansas City company uses 3D printing to produce masks with replaceable filter
Surrounded by non-essential businesses in the Country Club Plaza closed to slow the spread of COVID-19, one shop is whirring with the sounds of 3D printers running nearly 24/7.
Actually, the 3D printing company 3DHQ is officially closed as well but everyone in the company is donating their time and expertise to print PPE, or personal protective equipment, due to the shortage of the gear for frontline workers in the battle against COVID-19.
“We realized we have the technology to be able to help in one way or another,” said Nick Nikkhah, owner and co-founder of 3DHQ, a smallish shop whose walls are lined with 3D-printed figurines in lit display cases. When Nikkhah saw news reports that hospitals in Italy couldn’t get a ventilator part from their supplier, he and others at 3DHQ didn’t want local hospitals to have to go through the same thing.
Initially the company let area hospitals know that if they needed a part, it could be designed, printed and delivered by 3DHQ much faster than suppliers could get it to them. It was during this process, that Nikkhah says they realized what was needed was PPE.
“We knew we could do it, and we started doing it,” said Nikkhah.
The masks are called reusable high filtration masks. The frame is solid but moldable when heated and the filter is replaceable. Up until now, the filters they had been using were certified 99.7% efficient at stopping particles 0.3 microns or larger, close to the level of a HEPA filter. But that level of filtration could make it difficult for a wearer to breathe, so future batches will use certified 95% efficient filters, which is the level of protection N95 masks provide.
The filter material is sold by Filti, a Lenexa company. According to Filti’s website, their face mask filter material was “engineered using a patent-pending Nanofiber technology” that is 95% efficient at blocking particles like bacteria and viruses.
In addition, the masks are biodegradable. The starting material for the printers come in spools of polylactic acid, or PLA, which is made from corn starch or sugarcane.
Because the printer is set at optimum quality, one face mask takes close to six hours to print. They’ve had about 400 orders from the metro area and other parts of the country. Word of mouth has increased demand. To meet that demand, the printers are running nearly nonstop. They’ve bought seven new printers.
Nikkhah said some area hospitals are currently testing the masks. But many individuals who work in a medical setting or are first responders or corrections officers have bought 3DHQ’s masks out of pocket for themselves simply because they needed them. A few smaller health clinics like chiropractors and one pediatric clinic purchased them for the whole clinic. When filling orders, Nikkhah said the priority goes to health care workers.
3DHQ also makes face shields with headbands and face shields that can be attached to a baseball cap with clips.
All proceeds go back into making more PPE, according to Fabian Conde, 3DHQ co-founder and CEO.
3DHQ said it welcomes organizations that want to team up to get PPE to those on the frontlines battling the pandemic. Email info@3DHQKC.com.
“This is our latest passion project,” said Conde by email. “We aren’t trying to save the world, we’re just trying to do our part.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 5:29 PM.