Zenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (AFP)
A small community organized in Bosnia, which is far from being among the leaders of new technologies, the 3D printing of masks intended for medical personnel, on the front line in the fight against the new coronavirus.
It has not been possible for weeks to find such equipment in pharmacies in this poor country of 3.5 million inhabitants. Authorities have placed orders abroad, but with strong international demand, deliveries may be delayed.
However, some professors and students from the University of Zenica, a small town in central Bosnia, began to make special masks using 3D printers, more specifically face shields which are distributed free of charge in hospitals. and ambulances.
The first copies were made on Saturday in the small laboratory (iDEAlab) of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology where five printers are in service 24/24, tells AFP Mirza Oruc, 38, one of the initiators of the project.
"We are currently printing at Zenica in four places, on about fifteen printers, in order to minimize contact between people" and therefore the transmission of the virus, says this one, professor at the faculty of medicine.
They took as a model a type of visor, the design of which was put online for free by the check company Prusa, a manufacturer of 3D printers, and adapted it to the needs of the moment, in cooperation with the Zenica hospital. .
"These visors are mainly intended for medical personnel who are in direct contact with patients," explains the young professor.
About 180 people have so far been infected with the new coronavirus in Bosnia. Three people died there from the Covid-19. Authorities have declared a state of disaster, put an end to all non-essential activity and introduced a night curfew.
"The students have not come to classes since March 13, but the faculty has made itself available to society in these specific circumstances through specific work", welcomes the dean of the faculty Fuad Hadzikadunic, who oversees the manufacture of masks.
One of the students, Belmin Hinovic, 24, says that the plastic frames that attach to the bottom and top of the plexiglass visor are printed in 3D technology.
"Initially, it took us about four hours to print these items for a mask. But as demand increases considerably, we are trying to speed up the printing process and we can now make a mask in three hours," says T -he.
The idea spread like wildfire in Bosnia. Institutions, notably schools, and the private sector have made their printers available in ten cities. Several companies have sent the necessary materials, spools of filament for printing and Plexiglas.
"The small community is growing and more than a hundred printers are currently operating for this purpose," says Mirza Oruc.
© 2020 AFP