So, as most of us, small business's have seen a decline in sales or are shut down due to the COVID-19 virus. Upscaled Designs wanted to put our facility and staff to work on something that would help make an impact, as well as help keep our lights on and doors open.  With the equipment that we currently have, which includes our laser cutters as well as our 3D printers, we opted to help in producing the ever so needed PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) for our front-line medical workers to keep them safe.  We have the ability to produce 3D printed face shields but are very limited to the amount that we can produce in a day versus what the demand is right now. 

Currently we have the ability to produce roughly 6-8 shields per machine a day.  With 2 machines running nonstop this only puts us at 12-16 shields total output per day.  What we are looking for is individuals to partner with us in donations to purchase at least 8 more 3D printers which are around $230 each as well as materials for the shield.  Our goal is to make 1,300 masks in the next few weeks.  With 10 machines running 6 shields a day per machine this would set us at 60 pieces per day.  At this rate we would be able to complete the 1,300 desired shields in roughly 22 days.  This sets us near the estimated peak of the virus here in Minnesota.  The material costs to 3D print the main components is $18 a spool for each machine.  The clear face shield material cost per shield is $0.53 per shield.  The elastic band cost per shield is roughly $0.36 per shield.  This puts us at a total cost of $1,840 for the minimum 8 additional machines and $1,157 for just the shield, brackets that are printed as well as the elastic band.  We also have some other costs with foam for the headband part as well as labor to keep these running.