“We had a small 3D printer,” said Eldstrom. “We decided to throw them on our one printer that we had at the time.” It took some time and effort to hone it in. Eldstrom bought two more printers, and once he had success, he asked others if they wanted to contribute to the purchase of more. Now there’s 14 3-D printers. “We went from being able to print roughly 12-16 shields a day on the two printers, up to about 80 to 100,” said Eldstrom. They have printed more than 700 face shields and are working to get them to people and organizations that need them…primarily nursing homes and assisted living facilities.More than 150 face shields have been sent to those organizations so far, with a couple hundred more likely to be on the way before the end of the week. The face shields are being sent out free or charge. “We knew right away we wanted to do this as a donation base, because we didn’t want the purchase of the shields to be a barrier for someone that’s in need,” said Eldstrom. They are keeping up with demand. So, when they learned about another 3D printing need, they joined that cause. A custom automotive shop in Houston began printing a splitter that can be attached to a ventilator, allowing one machine to work for two people. Eldstrom got in touch with them, got their design, and got to work. For Eldstrom, he also had a personal reason to get involved. “My wife is a nurse, and I’m sure I hear more about what’s going on that some people do,” said Eldstrom. “We just knew we had the ability to help make a difference.”
BUSINESS SHIFTS GEARS TO MEET NEEDS
BLAINE, Minn. – (April 16, 2020) – When business started to shut down, screen printing orders at Upscaled Designs also slowed down. So the owner, Kerry Eldstrom, decided to look into printing face shields.
