IN A BID to do their bit, the Wokingham Men’s Shed have pooled their resources and bought a 3D printer to create PPE.
The printer — which was bought online 10 days ago — is currently being set up by Men’s Shed member, Colin Antink who has a 3D printer of his own.
“I actually made my first 3D printer out of parts sent to me each week from 3D Create and Print magazine,” explained Mr Antink. “I’ve always been interested in them and what you can make.
“So far, we’ve made 140 masks, as the machines can handle about 50 each week.
“There’s two types of designs we could make, but we opted for the one that’s more comfortable — although it takes slightly longer to create. Comfort is more important.
“I was amazed at how quickly Ron got behind the idea, he said it was a no-brainer really.”
Chairman of the Wokingham Men’s Shed, Ron Baillie said: “Over the last few weeks, Colin has been very active helping us to source, build and prepare a 3D printer to create PPE.
“He has been printing PPE for a while using his own machine, and has just been ordering some extra parts to make the new printer more robust.
“Hopefully he can begin using it in the next few days.”
Using the printing technology, Mr Antink has been creating a mask clip for the forehead and then attaching an acetate sheet as a face shield.
Once made, the masks are sterilised and packaged up for local healthcare workers.
“All the Shedders are behind it,” added Mr Baillie. “And once we’ve used the first reel of material to make 60 masks, we will contribute to buy more.
“We really appreciate Colin’s contribution in all of this.”
And Mr Antink hopes that after the pandemic is over, the Shedders will be able to use the 3D printer for a variety of projects.
“I hope people begin to see it’s usefulness really,” he added. “You can make so many things, the only limit is your imagination.”
The Men’s Shed, which was officially opened on Tuesday, December 3, 2019 welcomed new members with the intention of tackling social isolation.
As a registered charity, with more than 500 locations across the UK the shed is a place for local men — and women — to make new friends whilst making and mending.
“It’s ironic really,” said Mr Baillie. “ We set up the Men’s shed to tackle loneliness and isolation, and here we are lonely and isolated.
“So we’ve set up a weekly Zoom, which usually gets about 15 or 20 members tuning in, to talk about what we’ve all been up to.
“And we’ve set a few challenges of things to make at home, like bird houses and coasters — things you can make from scrap wood really because we’re running out of wood.
“We all have a bit of a laugh and get together. And for people busy in the day we do some evening calls too.”
