Brandon de Greef is a learner at Crawford International Ruimsig (Maragon) who has become part of a group initiative that is currently solving supply challenges related to Covid-19 face shields. He took it on himself to become part of the group that prints the 3D face shields.
There is currently a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) all over the world, and this has sparked the initiative among this local 3D print community.
It is unprecedented that the world has seen so many children out of school at the same time. This has left learners and students feeling sad, scared, angry, bored, concerned and confused.
Brandon has always enjoyed technology and engineering, and has been doing 3D printing as a hobby at home for more than three years. It now helps the Grade 9 learner to stay positive in these times of uncertainty.
Besides helping with printing the shields and some logistics, Brandon has helped the group to set up a discord server to enable easy communication with the team, which has grown to over 400 members in Gauteng alone within just two weeks .
All of these members are doing this at their own accord, contributing towards a charity and exercising the spirit of goodwill.
The shields act as a barrier that can protect health-care workers’ faces from external fluids and help prevent the transmission of the coronavirus.
These face shields were inspired by the 3D community and further improved by the members. They are so easy to use, and have an elastic rubber band for attaching them to the back of the users’ heads.
A replaceable standard A4 transparency shield is inserted on the front section to act as the protective barrier.
The members have already printed close to 5 000 shields and distributed them to health institutions locally in urgent need.
“We are proud of Brandon’s enthusiasm and willingness to help, as any small contribution to this cause can and will have a bigger influence if everyone does their part.
“A big thanks to all team members, and special thanks to Kevin Kempman, Brent and Charl for driving this good cause. It is heart-warming to know that thousands of 3D communities around the world are fighting this pandemic together,” said Brandon’s proud father, Nico de Greef.
