We are working with individuals and companies to supply FREE face shields/visors for frontline workers in the York area, North Yorkshire.
About us
We are a collective of makers in York, who have come together to use our 3D Printing skills and equipment to support our frontline workers in the fight against Covid-19.
Our intention is to offer a free safety visor to anyone working on the front line in the York Area. This could be shop assistants, teachers, cleaners, care workers, transport staff, delivery drivers, anyone who is required to work with the public during the pandemic.
The aim is to have a network of people/companies with the right skills and equipment to make, print and assemble visors free of charge.
The free 3D-Printed safety visors utilising a design which is being used effectively across Europe. The face shields/visors are made with a combination of 3D printing and laser cut elements, utilising a design which is being used effectively across Europe.
NEW Covid-19 Visors York website
Our new website is now live. The latest info and all blog updates will be be posted on Covid-19 Visors York from now on.
How you can help?
Please spread the word about what we need and what we are doing.
Donate now
The majority of our collective are self employed (soon to be unemployed) workers who want to use our skills to make a positive difference and support our key workers in these difficult times. But we need money to make this happen.
The money raised will pay for the cost of printing materials such as filaments, UV lights, elastic, and fuel. Any money left unused will be donated to Cavell Nurses Trust.
Please go to the Covid 19 Visors YORK AREA Go Fund Me page to donate.
If you need a visor, email interactandconnect@gmail.com with ‘visor please’ in the subject line. We can only provide if you are in York or the surrounding area but we will try and help you find a 3D-Printing group in your area.
If you have a 3D-Printer and want to get involved, email interactandconnect@gmail.com with ‘I have a 3D printer’ in the subject line. If you are in York you can join our team; if you are somewhere else, we can support you to create your own team. We are also utilising laser cutting facilities.
If you can supply materials and want to get involved, email interactandconnect@gmail.com with with ‘I have materials’ in the subject line.
Contacts
Facebook page for latest info
Coordinating 3D printing, laser cutting, materials supply and distribution
David Young / Joyce at interactandconnect@gmail.com
Coordinating website any graphic design support needed
Michelle Hughes at michellehughesdesign@outlook.com
Latest updates
Things are moving fast. I will update this page as soon as I have ‘big picture’ information, to help join more dots.
11 April 2020
NEW Covid-19 Visors York website
Our new website is now live. The latest info and all blog updates will be be posted on there from now on.
Thank you to Phil Johnson at Knavesmire Creative
3 April 2020 7pm
Our team is working day and night at the moment to produce and distribute much needed PPE visors to front line workers in York and the surrounding area.
As well as producing the physical visors we have been working on streamlining our processes for taking orders and recruiting volunteers:
If you would like to order 1 or more visors:
Please fill in the Google form - York COVID-19 Visor Request
(We can distribute visors within York and the surrounding areas, but if you are further afield please do get in touch. We will do our best to put you in touch with 3D Printers or similar projects in your region)
If you would like to volunteer or support the project in any way.
Please fill in the Google form - York COVID-19 Volunteer
(If you are based in York you can join our team. If you are based elsewhere please do get in touch as we may be able to support you in running a similar project in your area - alternatively contact 3dcrowduk directly)
Please remember to like, follow and share our content on Facebook and on Twitter @VisorYork
There are over 50 makers, and growing, involved in making the face visors now. Sooooooo much progress has been made to get the visors out to key frontline workers. It's truly inspiring to see how people are pulling together, donating their time and resources in such a short space of time.
A few photos of work in process and one of the first visors modelled by the lovely Barry from Silverwood Exhibitions.
Hot off the press! - Covid-19 Visors York logo
From 4am doodle to our new Covid-19 Visors York logo. Please don’t judge me on my graphic design skills. I’ve been working round the clock with the team on things, while trying to get things going with my own buiness!
The lovely Phil Johnson from Knavesmire Creative is creating a website for us, so they’ll be one central hub to get info. We hope to launch it over the weekend. So watch this space!
31 March 2020 7pm
Project manager We now have a project manager on board. Joyce is helping support David Young on the project. I'll post a summary of updates from Joyce on here until we have a specific central website and blog.
Go fund me page set up
The majority of our collective are self employed (soon to be unemployed) workers who want to use our skills to make a positive difference and support our key workers in these difficult times. But we need money to make this happen.
The money raised will pay for the cost of printing materials such as filaments, UV lights, elastic, and fuel. Any money left unused will be donated to Cavell Nurses Trust.
Please go to the Covid 19 Visors YORK AREA Go Fund Me page to donate.
Parts for COVID - 19 visors We have created an online spreadsheet to keep track of who can make what and when. Please email Joyce at interactandconnect@gmail.com for link. Please complete this with your details including how many parts you can make per day, and when they will be delivered. We are hoping to be able to store, sterilise and distribute parts from a central York hub and we will be in touch with details as soon as this is confirmed. We'll also send you a certificate to say this is what you are doing in case clarification is required by the authorities.
Website - coming soon We will be developing a central website and blog with clear simple communication to get people directed into the right places.
HELP NEEDED to build simple portfolio website that we can add contact and links to the right places on. If you can help, please email me at Michelle Hughes at michellehughesdesign@outlook.com
30 March 2020 9pm
David Young is hoping to start getting 3D printed visors out this week.
Silverwood's have linked up with David Young to make prototypes combining 3D printed head band and laser cut clear plastic shield. Silverwood's also plan to test full laser cut NYU face shield as below.
I'm coordinating linking up other large format laser cutting facilities in the area.
Help needed:
Need source of clear plastic for laser cutting.
Admin help for David Young. Please email interactandconnect@gmail.com
Background
30 March 2020 am
Joining the dots
On Saturday I made a quick call to my cycling friend, Fiona. One conversation led to another. She works in the NHS in Harrogate. Learning that there’s a shortage of faces shields, I looked it up and discovered an open-source specification for laser cutting face shields.
As part of my business I work with a few local York businesses that laser cut for my clients. I put a call for help out on email.
Barry at Silverwood Exhibitions came straight back. They were already on it. They could make them. If they could source the materials did people want them? And how would we get them to the most vulnerable people that need them?
In this situation the hardest thing is finding the key contacts and right people to talk to directly.
A call out on all social media channels and ringing round friends and drawing on connections that may have ideas slowly joined up the dots.
Fast forward 48 hours. Jackpot.
Snowball effect
I was put in touch with David Young and discovered a bigger project was already underway. One following the 3D printing face shield route.
David is bringing together anyone with 3D printing capabilities in the York area. He’s building and coordinating an umbrella network of people working together, with the same goal. He’s in touch with many key contacts and already ahead setting up distribution channels to get them to the right people.
So this is now part of a bigger solution to help get this going in the York area.
Free 3D printed visors for Frontline workers in York area, North Yorkshire
“We are a group of makers in York, who are coming together to use our 3d Printing Skills to contribute to fighting Covid-19.
We are collectively printing safety visors, the Design we are using is being used effectively all over Europe. Anyone in YORK and surrounding areas, who work in shops or any other frontline services, we will print you one for free."
Above taken from a message from David Young on Facebook. He has now set up a Facebook Group: ‘Free 3D printed visors for Frontline workers in York area’
Free laser cut visors for Frontline workers in York area, North Yorkshire
Silverwood Exhibitions are a laser cutting company in Hessay, York. They have offered to buy the materials needed and make Face Shields. The specification is from a New York University open-source face-shield design.
“NYU’s design requires only basic materials, including two pieces of clear, flexible plastic and an elastic band, and it can be manufactured in less than a minute by essentially any production facility that includes equipment for producing flat products (whole punches, laser cutters, etc.). "
Source Techcrunch "NYU makes face shield design for healthcare workers that can be built in under a minute available to all"
I'm currently coordinating feeding the above into the distribution network that David Young is building.
Background info on laser cut face shields
New York University has created an open-source face-shield design.
Read the full article here:
Instructions and spec
How to get started making shields
Funding
At the moment this is being funded by individuals and businesses such as Silverwood exhibitions to get things kick started. More news on that to come.
What skills do you have?
I’ve been in an ethical dilemma. It doesn’t seem right to carry on creating art. It’s something I enjoy tremendously and something I make money from to make a living. Neither feel or sit right.
The message I’ve been getting lost and clear from customers and people following my journey is to ‘Keep creating art’. In time I will.
But when I can see another way I can help in another way I will. Having been a design manager some of my strengths are problem solving, thinking outside of the box and bringing those ideas and people together.
Let’s think creatively about different skills we have and different ways we can help. It may not be as obvious as you think!
One final note. I think this reflects the importance of small business and creative individuals. We can use our knowledge and connections to help get things going.
So that’s my 4am thoughts, munching muesli in bed, from someone who overthinks and thinks they can’t write.
Michelle
PS. Sorry for any typos and words missed out. Speed to get the message out is of the essence.
About the artist
Michelle Hughes is a North Yorkshire landscape artist. Much of her work depicts the Yorkshire landscape and Yorkshire coast, including the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors.
Michelle loves exploring the British countryside by bike or on foot, camera in hand, capturing ideas for her next prints. Back in her garden studio, Michelle creates simple but stylised silhouettes based on her photographs, and hand carves these shapes into lino. She hand prints with an etching press, using oil-based inks to create tonal blocks of colour.
Michelle’s original linocut prints are limited editions.