Dr Panchagunula Jayaprakash has always been interested in 3D printing, so much so that he pursued his PhD in Additive Manufacturing. So, like all good Samaritans out there, this Assistant Professor at SRM University, AP directed his passion towards designing, testing and 3D printing face shields for frontline workers. Though the professor had five different kinds of designs ready and had designed them at the university in Amravati, thanks to the lockdown, he was stuck in Hyderabad and unable to get them printed. "But a friend, who has access to 3D printers and whom I met through a seminar, printed it for us in Hyderabad and another student in Guntur is getting them printed at the university," explains the professor.
He took the help of his wife to test all the designs, which differed from each other only in terms of their length and how far away from the face they were. The professor's attention to feedback is commendable because before mass-manufacturing it, he wants to distribute a few among the police force and doctors and gain their feedback too. "In fact, it was my wife who proposed that I should take feedback from people who are really going to use it," says the 32-year-old with a smile. Every face shield has a band fitted with a shield of 100-micron thickness that keeps droplets from entering the body through the eyes, nose or mouth. And he made these with the skills he has been honing, and sharing with others, for over 10 years.
Apart from this project, the Bhadrachalam-born professor teaches Manufacturing Science, Additive Technology Processes and Additive Manufacturing, and currently, he is taking these classes online. The aim of his face shield project is to zero-in on an appropriate design depending on the feedback of the second batch and then, go into mass production and offer the face shields for a mere `20. And if the government approves, he will distribute them.
What are face shields?
- Part of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- It has a band that goes around the forehead and hanging from the band is a plastic sheet that covers the whole face
- Generally should be used with goggles and masks
- Injection molding is a good way to manufacture them
To know more, check out srmap.edu.in
