3D printers producing face shields are seen in Istanbul, Turkey, April 5, 2020. (Photo by Yasin Akgul/Xinhua)
ISTANBUL, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Ender Akarsu began to work at his home in Istanbul on his 3D printer early on Sunday to make the last set of protective face shields to be distributed to health care workers in hospitals.
"Since last Monday, I have printed and delivered a total of 60 shields," Akarsu told Xinhua. "I am now preparing the last couple of pieces of a package that will contain 30 shields."
Akarsu, a 32-year-old geology engineer, decided to use his printer to produce protective shields after he realized that surgical face masks became scarce in the country over the fast spread of COVID-19.
"Working 16 to 18 hours a day, my printer can print up to 12 items per day," he said.
Each time after he finishes the copy of 30 pieces, he fills a form on an online portal named "Three Dimensional Support," and waits for a motorized volunteer to pick them up.
The online portal was launched by a bunch of individuals on March 19 to support hospitals that need medical tools and equipment for personal protection during the fight against COVID-19.
"We wanted to offer them the potential of 3D printers and 3D print technology and respond to their needs of personal protection," Ramazan Subasi, a representative of the platform, told Xinhua.
"First, we posted a registration form online, asking those who have a 3D printer to fill it," Subasi continued. "We told people that we will contact them if the outbreak becomes so widespread."
Since then, a total of 4,000 individuals and institutions across the country have filled the form and registered 4,500 3D printers.
"We have also received 40,000 face shields and delivered them to hospitals in Turkey for the use of health care workers," Subasi said.
Meanwhile, members of Turkey's Motorbikers Platform have been providing logistic support for the distribution of the products.
"They are collecting the products and delivering them to a center where the pieces, namely the shields and skeletons, are put together," Subasi said. "And then they are ready to be distributed to hospitals."
Another contributor to the platform Maher Alielah, a Palestinian living in Istanbul for three years, has been printing shields at home through his highly sophisticated 3D printer.
"I found the support group on Instagram, and I contacted a team member. She explained to me how all the process works and I immediately started to produce," Alielah told Xinhua.
Alielah is now planning to improve the design of the shields so he can produce them in a much faster way.
"Since I don't know which design would be suitable for the health care workers, I am planning to produce several alternatives and call the support team and ask them to introduce my designs to a doctor," he said. "After I receive the approval for one of them, I will start to produce as many as I can."
For the moment, he can print one piece every hour in average, and he has printed 34 copies in six days.
At the end of the day, a motorbiker delivered 20 face shields to the Sultangazi Haseki Hospital in Istanbul, which was selected as a pilot hospital for COVID-19 patients.
A nurse at the hospital said the shields are more comfortable than the protective glasses. "At least they do not leave traces on our faces," she told Xinhua while trying to put one on her face.
The total number of diagnosed COVID-19 cases in Turkey rose to 23,934 and the death toll has reached 501 on Saturday, according to the Health Ministry.
