3D Printed Door Opener Helps Stem Spread of Coronavirus

(Image courtesy of Materialise.)

As the world continues to face the coronavirus disease pandemic through social-distancing, self-quarantine and repeated cleaning of surfaces and hands, opening doors to hospitals, grocery stores, medical facilities, airports and a few other locations is still necessary. People are wearing gloves or using plastic bags to open doors. Fair enough. Stay safe.

But Belgium-based Materialise designed a 3D-printed door opener that allows people to open and close doors using their arms, rather than their hands. Materialise is giving away the design for free and is putting out a call to arms for 3D printers around the world to print their design that could help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Door handles come in a wide variety of materials and the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is stable for several hours to days in aerosols and on surfaces, according to a new study from National Institutes of Health, CDC, UCLA and Princeton University scientists in The New England Journal of Medicine. According to a news release from nih.gov, the report states that “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detectable in aerosols for up to three hours, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.” Door handles represent an area that carries a high risk of contamination, even with regular cleaning using alcohol-based solvents.

Download the 3D-printed door opener here.

The 3D-printed door opener attaches to door handles and extends a paddle-shaped object for people’s arms to open and close doors. It doesn’t need holes to be drilled, and you don’t need to replace the doorknob or handle. This version only attaches to cylindrical handles, though Materialise is going to design more 3D files that fit different types of door handles.

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