DHHS Staff 3D Prints Face Shield Parts

A nationwide shortage of PPE for healthcare workers during the pandemic has forced some creative solutions to produce this critical equipment. At Daniel Hand High School, CTE Program Coordinator Dan Grenier - with the help of the school’s 3D printers – is doing his part to curb the shortage.  

Grenier is using Hand’s 3D printers to print the head piece for face shields. So far he has printed 52 head pieces, with each piece taking about 2.5 hours to print. Grenier is working with Ben Danker who has served on the district’s CTE advisory board and helped with recent district curriculum work in addition to his position with Trinity Healthcare New England.

“With the COVID crisis, Ben [Danker] developed a network he calls "CT 3D Print Army" where there are over 100 3D printers in CT that have committed to printing parts for this cause,” said Grenier. “DHHS is part of this team.” 

By late April, the Print Army was able to print and deliver more than 1,500 face shields to over 19 hospitals, nursing homes, and emergency services across the state. In addition, over a two week period the Print Army produced over 5,000 ear savers.

Grenier said right now Danker is testing out printing respirator masks, which will be the next Print Army project.   

“Once they have made the necessary changes from the tests, they will be sending out the design to all of us to start printing,” he said.