While Atkins Library's building is closed due to COVID-19, our Area 49 Makerspace 3-D printers have been busy turning out personal protective equipment (PPE) for Charlotte-area healthcare workers.
As a printing partner of Charlotte MEDI, a group of makers in the Charlotte community helping out local hospitals by making face shields, Atkins’ staff is using the library’s 3-D printing resources to produce individual parts for face shields -- a total of 598 so far. Charlotte MEDI delivered 12,042 shields to local hospitals as of April 7, 2020, including those made by Atkins.
UNC Charlotte faculty members from several colleges, including the Lee College of Engineering, the College of Arts & Architecture, and the College of Computing and Informatics, have utilized their departments’ 3-D printers for face mask production, inspiring Atkins to join the effort.
The nationwide shortage of protective face masks for professionals on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic motivates the #MillionMaskChallenge throughout the community. In support of this effort, library staff was given instructions on how to sew cloth masks and encouraged to create as many as they could during this time of working from home.
*April 10, 2020 Update* Atkins' 3-D printers are now printing the NIH Reviewed Surgical Release Band. These bands reduce pressure and fatigue on the ears of medical staff who have needed to wear N95 face masks for extended periods during the pandemic.
For more information about how you can help, visit: CharlotteMEDI.org.