BATH, Maine – General Dynamics Bath Iron Works is using 3-D printers to create personal protection equipment for health care providers.
BIW Engineering’s Advanced Concepts team is using 3-D printing to create plastic face-shield holders. The holders wrap around the head at the forehead level and secure a clear plastic shield which is being provided by the BIW Sign Shop from material used to laminate signs, which has been laser cut to size. The team worked with the General Dynamics Additive Manufacturing working group to find a 3D CAD model of the holder. Using the model, the printer can continually create the holders around the clock, producing 12 per day.
Working with MaineHealth, the state’s largest integrated health care system, BIW delivered 75 pieces of the personal protective equipment to Maine Medical Center Monday, April 20 with a separate delivery scheduled for Central Maine Medical Center. The replacement face shield and holder is lightweight and designed to be printed quickly compared to the more robust, re-usable ones that are standard in hospitals.
The success of this effort has led members of the BIW Supply Chain to accelerate purchase of two additional 3-D printers, which had been planned for later in the year.
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works is an equal opportunity employer. More information about General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), can be found at www.gdbiw.com.