Laguna Tools & Customers Use CNC Machines to Help Medical Community

In the midst of this global unease, humanity has shown its inherent good nature. Healthy neighbors have volunteered to fetch groceries for immune-compromised and older individuals. 

People have cheered for medical workers from their balconies daily, creating a symphony of support. Medical professionals have come out of retirement to lend a helping hand.

With many individuals using their Laguna Tools CNC machines to help pitch in and make items to help our medical community.

We are proud to share with you just five stories of kindness within our woodworking community.

Laguna Customer Erin Diamond, Retired Wayne County Sheriff's Deputy, Create N95 Face Shields

Using his laser cutter, Mr. Diamond invented a splash guard face shield that wraps around the front of a mask and is held in place with the help of an elastic band.

“[It’s] a piece of plastic, [it’s] simple for us to cut, takes us about a minute and a half per piece. You just fold it up and put it over the mask itself,” said Diamond in an interview with Fox 2 Detroit.

“If you're working with water or fluids or you don't have a full face shield, this will protect that cloth from absorbing those liquids and it should prolong the life -- almost 300 times as long”

Diamond and others across the country are working together virtually to make thousands of masks for health workers on the front lines.

Using a 1mm cutting board material from Walmart, Mr. Diamond created face shields which in his words, “Works great.”

Here are the DXF file and the RD file that will directly drop into the Laguna Tools laser control:

mask_rev2

N95 shield V032 J.F

Helping out doesn’t always have to include physically building items for our medical community, it can be as simple as listening to our health care providers, keeping our distance from one another, staying home as much as possible, and washing our hands.

Laguna Tools is Now Making Face Masks

"Shields are flowing off at a solid pace. One 4' x 8' sheet is cut in under 10 minutes" says Shawn Buinicky, General Manager of Laguna's Columbia, SC Facility. "We here in S.C. are producing face shields with our demo CNC machines to help a local company meet the high demand of these items.

The company "AXIS-RM" has the need to produce up to a million shields for first responders and to replenish depleted stock around the country.

"We will be making the clear shields that will be final assembled at a plant a few miles from our facility" says Buinicky. Starting Monday, Laguna's Grand Prairie, Texas (DFW) location will also start producing masks to join in Laguna's efforts to help health workers.

UW Makerspace Creates Medical Face Shield

In response to the medical equipment shortages, UW Makerspace assembled a team with the UW Hospital, Delve, and Midwest Prototyping to create a COVID-19 medical face shield. The top-of-the-line design uses economic materials and a scalable, advanced manufacturing process.

On UW’s website, you can find everything you need to join forces and to make masks of your own including:

• Open source design and parts list
• Supplier resources for foam, plastic, and elastic
• Buyer resources and their expected production rates for making the face shields
• Email list of healthcare facilities in need of face shields

“We feel like there is a gap in the response to these shortages. It’s the niche between craft projects and mass production.

It’s possible that this niche will need to be filled long term as traditional supply chains break down during demand spikes or transportation challenges,” writes Jesse Darley, Director of Mechanical Engineering and Principal at Delve.

Dr. Hsien Yung Lai Creates Inexpensive Intubation Box

Using TOOL, companies were able to recreate the inexpensive intubation box, originally produced by Dr. Hsien Yung Lai in Taiwan

The intubation box works by sitting over the head and shoulders of a patient as they are intubated by a healthcare provider. According to Maketory, the box acts as a protective shield between the patient and the staff member, minimizing the spread of COVID-19.

After use, people can easily clean the boxes using bleach or an alcohol solution.

You can view the video here.

Laguna Customers Eric Diamond and Eric Allen Create N95 Face Shields

Using a 1mm cutting board material from Walmart, Mr. Diamond and Mr. Allen created face shields which in their words, “Works great.”

Here are the DXF file and the RD file that will directly drop into the Laguna Tools laser control:

mask_rev2

N95 shield V032 J.F

Helping out doesn’t always have to include physically building items for our medical community, it can be as simple as listening to our health care providers, keeping our distance from one another, staying home as much as possible, and washing our hands.

Get a free Laguna backpack if you're using our CNC's to make personal protective equipments for first responders! Send us your story and a picture of what you are making. 

Are you using products from Laguna Tools to help pitch in and make items to help our medical community? We'd love to hear from you.  Share your stories for a chance to be featured.