MakerForce PNW

05/16/2020

This week we took in another super generous materials donation! 3D Printlife sent us 100kg of NatureWorks PLA for us to supply our makers and keep the PPE suppy chain rockin'. It's our partners and sponsors that supply the fuel for this fire and we can't thank them enough.

05/14/2020

The Coca-Cola Company makes their bottles out of PETG, which is one of the best materials to source for the visors on the face shields we manufacture. They've been coming through for us open-source PPE makers in a big way, and at the end of last month we received a GIANT roll of plastic from them via Open Source Medical Supplies, over 1000 lbs worth! We used it to manufacture shields for our 3000 piece order for the Navajo Nation which is currently en route from Chandler to Window Rock, Arizona; 600 visors for UFCW 21 healthcare workers in Washington; and as dental offices are opening, this plastic will be used to supply their requests that are coming in since they generously donated their PPE to hospitals at the beginning of the crisis. Check out this GIANT roll of plastic and how our volunteers cut it down to a manageable size at our partner Ctrl-H's maker space.

05/12/2020

Our main customers are healthcare workers and first responders, but in our mission to support them, it's important that we ensure other high-risk workers and the people they come in contact with are protected as well! Lowering the rate of infections helps to ensure the hospitals can manage their incoming patients safely and effectively. We sent out some of our 3DVERKSTAN face shields to daycare workers in New York!

05/12/2020

Today, we shipped out our largest single order to date to fulfill a request of 3000 pieces of PPE from the Navajo Nation in Window Rock, Arizona. Their per capita infection rates are now higher than any states. They are facing the same hurdles we as states are in procuring federal assistance and funding, and then a substantial amount more. We hope the face shields and masks our makers have diligently manufactured and our volunteers have carefully sanitized, organized, and packaged will make a difference in keeping the citizens of the Navajo Nation healthy and safe.

Fulfilling a large request as quickly as we did would not have been possible without our amazing community partners.

FIRST Team Mean Machine 2471 produced a large bulk of those shields going out!

Intel, whose makers contributed shields, and for facilitating overnight shipping to Arizona.

The Coca-Cola Company, whose donated PET plastic was used in making the clear protective visor portion of these shields.

Ctrl-H for providing the laser cutter and training for volunteers to be able to manufacture the visors needed for this order.

We can make it, together.

05/07/2020

Volunteer Spotlight: Jewel Mlnarik, Sew Lead.

We wanted to expand our ability to fulfill orders for handsewn masks and gowns for our customers, and ensure that we were providing clear organization and direction for our sewing volunteers to rely upon while contributing their time and efforts. Jewel stepped into that role and has provided fantastic leadership, coordination, and communication. Thank you Jewel!!

05/06/2020

Airtable is the fantastic data management tool that we are using to manage our emergency response pop-up supply chain; what we call our "Rapid Assistance Database." We're currently working on integrating other regional Open Source Medical Supply groups into our system, as well as supplying the template for others to be able duplicate it independently. The collaboration between teams for the benefit of all of our mutual aid networks is incredibly exciting! More info will be coming on that soon, but in the meantime, check out the gallery Airtable has published, including and "all the COVID-19 related resources and projects that are being built with Airtable both to give visibility to the important work that is being done and to hopefully inspire others to get to work in their own communities as well!"

Airtable is compiling resources and projects that use Airtable to make a difference in local communities amidst COVID-19. ​ We're showcasing these...

05/06/2020

It's and we'd like to take this opportunity to ask for your support! Our open-source, pop-up manufacturing framework means that every $ we receive goes a long way to getting our high-risk workers protected! Donate here: http://ow.ly/TP4L50zxZj3

The Why:COVID19 is currently spreading exponentially, in a mostly unchec… Connor Weller needs your support for Personal Protective Equipment for PNW Hospitals

05/05/2020

volunteer Kimberly Flick recently wrote up a blog post, "Community & Creativity in the Time of Covid – Mighty Collaborations." It's so important to shine a light on our mutual aid networks, and we are proud to be included on this list of fellow PDX organizations and individuals helping to provide relief to the community. Thank you Kimberly for your time and efforts!

Amid covid chaos, there are brights spots of community concern, help and collaboration - Portland has a great ecosystem of support! LinkedIn Local PDX

05/01/2020

We're so lucky to have a new space donated to us by a commercial landlord in Beaverton, a few doors down from BrainWave Computers. Here's the team getting our new HQ ready and doing some of the receiving, sorting, sanitizing, packaging, logistics, and everything else involved in maintaining and growing our pop-up supply chain of open source PPE! As you can see, there's a lot to do other than 3D printing. Fill out a volunteer form at www.MakerForce.org today, and let us know what skills you have that you may be able to contribute to the cause!

04/30/2020

Dr. Lau in Dallas received her face shield from us this weekend. That's right, you don't need to be in the PNW to receive help from us. Visit www.MakerForce.org and hit the "Request PPE" button at the top to get started.

04/29/2020

Thanks to our awesome volunteers ( Rachel Novak and Ian Lyman), we now have a video sharing our story! Help us get the word out about our pop-up PPE supply chain by sharing with friends and family. :) Special thanks to all our partners, donors, and sponsors for supporting this important work. Portland 3D Printing Lab BaselineDesign Ctrl-H BrainWave Computers Sigma Design, Inc. Proto-pasta Techforge FIRST Team Mean Machine 2471

MakerForce (formerly OSCMS-PNW) is a grassroots emergency response organization formed to harness the collective manufacturing power of individual makers and 3d…