The Best Crowdsourced Designs to Fight COVID-19

COVID-19 has temporarily altered acceptable parameters of society at large in every country around the world. Self-quarantining, social distancing and wearing masks in public have become normal. The 3D printing community writ large responded to the crisis with new designs for masks, ventilator conversion components, swabs for testing and other personal protective equipment (PPE). As different geographic areas begin to reopen in phases, focusing on products to help keep public spaces sanitized and clean is the latest challenge.

Cad Crowd’s Coronavirus Challenge

Startup platform Cad Crowd recently held an open-source design contest to “generate product designs that help prevent the spread of COVID-19.” The call for the 3D community to create new products and 3D designs to help keep the public safe from COVID-19 came at just the right time, and the results are in.

Using a hybrid system of peer reviews and internal review, Cad Crowd encouraged its community to vote on the designs members felt were the best, suggesting that users without the means to view CAD files look at them through Autodesk Viewer.

Each design entry was submitted with images in a neutral file format and users were asked to upload their entries into Cad Crowd’s CAD library.

1st Place Winner:

The first-place design in Cad Crowd’s Coronavirus Challenge came from user cristianonishi, who is based in Germany. The design is called “Hook Ring,” and it is meant to give people the means to pull or push things, such as doors and elevator buttons. Designed for 3D printing with plastic materials, it requires that users make it with SLA, SLS or FFF printers that have water soluble support materials available. (Image courtesy of Cad Crowd user cristianonishi.)

2nd Place Winner:

This product can be kept on a faucet or doorknob and cleaned at regular intervals. Its long handle allows people to use the sink or open and close doors with their elbows. It can be 3D printed in different sizes and has enough open space for people to access locks with keys. (Image courtesy of Cad Crowd user om_the_designers_bay.)

3rd Place Winner:

This wearable hand sanitizer entry did not win, but I like the concept. It is 3D printable and has no electronic components, yet users can attach it with standard wristbands and have a supply of sanitizer at their disposal. Press the button to sanitize one hand and repeat the process with the opposite hand. (Image courtesy of Cad Crowd user Abdul Tanzeel.)

Bottom Line

As people slowly return to work, restaurants and other public spaces, innovative designs from the 3D printing community to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 could turn into everyday products. To see more winners of Cad Crowd’s Coronavirus Challenge, click here.

For even more COVID-19 projects from the maker community, check out the new Make: Projects platform from Make: and engineering.com.