Due to lots of public interest, IG is expanding this "buy a 3d printer and get trained" effort! More than 20 individuals have signed up to get trained and join the team making PPE for front line healthcare workers.
We want to keep this offer available - you pay for the printer, we will waive our typical class fee and membership requirement and offer training on how to use it for FREE. All we ask is that you join us in producing these life-saving face shields as long as there is a need. Yes, we are making things - but just as importantly we are building capacity, building community, helping get people started in this cool world of 3d printing. Everyone benefits.
There is no better time to pick up a new skill, join an exciting and active community, and make a difference at the same time.
Our network of volunteers has made and delivered almost 6,000 face shields in the last 8 days - and we would love for you to be a part of that effort.
This has been a popular offer - and we are currently booked about 2 weeks out. This means that if you donate today, expect to pick up your printer and get into an online class in about two weeks.
A lot can change in two weeks - it is possible that the need for face shields has been met, or that we have moved on to making other parts. It may be that the need is greater than ever. Either way, our offer stands.
We have raised our goal to 25 students trained by this project - enough to produce up to 400 face shields per day! So far we have filled 21 of those slots.
If you don't think 3d printing is for you, but you want to support this program, please give what you can - it will be used to provide equipment to deserving participants who cannot afford a 3d printer at this time and to provide medical-grade PETG filament to all participants.
Thank you for everything you've done, and everything you continue to do! We at IG are incredibly proud of, and thankful for, the amazing community of people who make this happen!
***UPDATE 4:30PM Monday***
What a success - Thank you all for making it happen.
We set out to buy 10 machines and train 10 people, and then we upped it to 15. If you donated, you will hear from Jon about getting plugged into this project. Expect to be able to pick up the printer on Thursday or Friday.
While that we have committed to all the new machines and classes we can handle, we will leave this campaign open since your gift can and will support IG's efforts to build capacity for humanitarian good. However, we can no longer promise you will get a machine at the $225 level.
In the coming week we are going to get this thing done! And if we can manage it, we will do another round. Until then, your donation and moral support is appreciated.
Thank you thank you thank you,
Elliot Wells, and everyone at
Ithaca Generator
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Here's the news from Ithaca-PPE:
We've got weeks worth of filament coming, and a kick-ass team working on the face-shield design files. Tomorrow I'm picking up a vinyl cutter to start cranking those out. Our network is growing - special shout out to Mechanical Meltdown: FTC Team 12833 in Watkins Glen and all the other awesome folks who have signed on in the last 24 hours!
But our production is not growing as fast as the problem. Here is what we are going to do about it:
-Offer free online classes to volunteers who want to learn how to assemble and run a 3d printer
-Provide a 3d printer and supply of medical-grade PETG filament as long as there is unmet need anywhere in the country
-Follow-up classes online to help troubleshoot and tune the machines and produce great prints!
-Invitation to join the Ithaca-PPE team and help us produce 2000 face shields for Cayuga Medical Center this week!
Volunteers do not have to be a member of Ithaca Generator - just willing to learn and have a pet-free space at home to run prints!
We know that NYC is the worst now, but it will not be the last place, or the only place, to experience acute need. We will run this program as long as there is unmet humanitarian need that we can address in the country. One printer with a volcano nozzle can produce 20-30 pieces per day. If we can get 10 more people involved, that will make a MAJOR difference in our ability to help those who need it most.
The very very amazing Jon Sanders of IG has offered to pilot two cohorts of 4-6 students each through this process over the next week. We are also reaching out to other rockstar producers in our network to provide instruction!
(ALL MACHINES CLAIMED) Donate at the $225 level and the printer is yours to keep, along with free training, PETG filament and a tube of Magigoo for great results! There's never been a better time to learn.
Here is what this fundraiser is paying for:
-Ten (10) Creality ender 3 3d-printers with glass beds ($225 each)
-Ten (10) Vocano hot-ends and big nozzles to double print speed ($75 each)
-Ten (10) sets of basic supplies - Magigoo bed adhesive e.g ($10 each)
Total Goal: $3100
(Updated to $4500 for 15 machines)
If we fall short, we will buy as many printers as we can. If we exceed this goal, we will outfit as many volunteers as we possibly can!
So many of you have given so very generously this week. I am truly grateful for the important part the community has played in making this happen. We also recognize that many of you are experiencing hardships yourself. Please give what you can, and if you cannot give today, know that a share or a word of encouragement can go a long way as well.
If you want to learn 3d printing, and you have a pet-free pace in your house to keep a printer, we want to hear from you. We will be organizing this effort over the next few days - with your input!
Stay safe, stay healthy
Elliot Wells
President,
Ithaca Generator
ALL PRINTERS HAVE BEEN CLAIMED!! w00t
March 30, 2020
Thanks to all the supporters, we've maxed out what we can handle for the printers and classes this week!
As the week rolls on we will assess the need and our capacity to bring more people in - so if you didn't get in on this round, there may be a next round!
Donors at the $225 level can expect an email from Jon regarding training and logistics.
Donors at all levels get a big socially distanced high-five and very sincere thank you from me and from the folks we are helping.
Keep keeping on, my friends
Elliot
Pilot round is funded! Next step: Scale.
March 30, 2020
This morning I've gotten calls, emails, and FB messages from nurses, maker organizers, and even a VP Supply Chain Manager asking for medical gear.
There are volunteers working right now on creating the tooling needed to mass-produce these face shields - and when that happens this network will pivot to ventilator parts, valves, or whatever else is needed. For now, this is our best and fastest option to keep people safe.
We hit our first goal for this 3d-printer training project this morning, and I've ordered 10 printers that will be here and in the hands of volunteers Thursday! In addition, a few folks from Ithaca and beyond have decided to buy their own printers and we are offering the same training and support to them. I've raised the goal to include another cohort of 5 trainees and 5 printers!
If you or a loved one has been interested in taking up 3d-printing, now is the time! If you can give a few bucks to help get one into the hands of an individual who cannot afford one, we would love that too.
Jon is organizing the classes, so if you've donated at the top level expect an email from him to get that started!
Wishing you all the best,
Stay healthy
Elliot
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