Engineers at UCLA have begun using 3D printing and laser cutting equipment to produce surgical face shields in an effort to meet the rapidly growing demand for personal protective equipment for health care workers in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Five hundred shields have been distributed to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and three other area hospitals, with another 500 set to be shipped Friday, according to UCLA bioengineering professor Jacob Schmidt.
The materials to develop each face shield cost under $1, and the shields are being distributed for free.
One hundred shields can be produced each day under at the UCLA Innovation Lab — the “makerspace” on the first and second floors of the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering’s Boelter Hall.
However, the team is working on designs solely involving laser cutting that could increase the rate of production to more…
