01 May 2020 / Kraluv Dvur, Czech Republic
Necessity - the Mother of Invention
Contributed by:
Voice of the Danube
07 July 2020

In Kraluv Dvur, near Beroun in central Bohemia, a group of volunteers responded to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic by launching the initiative "3-D Printing for Corona Protection".

They print protective masks from a pattern originally developed at the Technical Faculty of the Czech Agricultural University in Prague, and still subject to ongoing improvement. The volunteer group's 3-D printers turn out up to 200 reusable mask frames masks every day. Current issues come with a fabric cover, and whenever available, nanofiber material is used.

“We had difficulties sourcing the necessary personal protection equipment for the staff at the local wastewater treatment plant, therefore we took the opportunity the volunteers offered. We contributed sufficient quantities of raw material, and now three printers cover not only our demand, but that of the other crisis respond organizations as well. In the middle of April we were already able to distribute a first batch of 40 masks to employees at risk”, reports Jiří Paul, Managing Director of the local water supplier VAK Beroun with understandable pride.