Indian Startup Making Protection Gear Using 3D Printing Technique as COVID-19 Cases Mount

A young Indian printing startup called “Daava” from Hyderabad has begun fashioning face shields and eyewear for healthcare professionals using 3D printing techniques as a quick method to produce this protective gear in the wake of a demand-supply mismatch.  

“The biggest advantage of 3D printing is that it can be used as an instant production facility, for small quantities. We are not viewing the designs of these equipment as an alternative to already existing designs in the market, rather, we view it as an emergency choice", Mohd. Abdul Shakoor, Director and Co-Founder of Daava told Sputnik.

Despite the federal government mandating producers and sellers of basic protection gear to maintain their original prices, there have been widespread complaints about inflated prices for these products.

Shakoor said two 3D printers can produce 20 face shields and 15 pairs of eyewear in one day, especially when creating a specific design is not a restriction. These shields cost INR 130 ($1.7 approx.) and INR 90 ($1.1 approx.) and conform to norms prescribed by India’s National Centre for Disease Congrol (NCDC).

​“There are the basic essentials that are to be met since we are a startup. We sell these products without much profit margin. We sell the face shields for INR 100 and the goggles INR 150 directly to government hospitals", the young Indian techie added.

In its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, India is ramping up the process of producing more protective gear and home test kits for detecting COVID-19. It has also banned the export of these products.

Since December 2019, the COVID-19 outbreak has spread across 199 countries. Globally, it has infected over 1.34 million people and resulted in the deaths of over 74,000 patients, real-time statistics platform Worldometer notes.

The number of positive cases in India has now crossed the 4,000-mark. 

In a bid to tackle the delicate situation, the country is also implementing advanced tech solutions like drones along with ionized water droplets to sanitise all public places and deactivate the life cycle of the coronavirus from surfaces.

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