A Mitchells Plain family are doing their part to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
With the use of 3D printers, the Nelsons are making face visors and distributing them to the most vulnerable in their community.
Marshall Nelson is a managing director for Youth Media Movement, an institute aimed at strategic training and skills development programmes for the youth and the physically challenged in Mitchells Plain and surrounding areas.
One of his initiatives is to train the community how to assemble 3D printers and use them to create components for drones, working from a trace design and then printing a structure.
Marshall Nelson with the face shields that he made with 3D Printers. Picture: Brendan Magaar/African News Agency (ANA)
Since the lockdown, Nelson identified a need among those living and working in the area to protect themselves should they have to leave their
homes.
He and his children, Maté, Marté and Marshall jnr, begun tracing designs for a visor, modeling their concept on a hairband.
Each printer prints as many as 20 stencils in 24 hours, with nine printers able to produce 180 stencils at a time.
Nelson and his children then break apart the stencils and attach the pieces to form a visor or face shield.
Marte' Nelson attaching the laminating paper to the visor. Picture: Brendan Magaar/African News Agency (ANA)
“I’m making these shields for my community, especially those that have to go to the day hospital to get their medication and has to return regularly to top up,” he said.
“Also the staff at the day hospital, the police, the big hospitals... places where people have to go to and where contact with other people cannot be avoided.
“I’m doing this so that my community is protected. I am not saying that this will completely protect you, but at least it will assist in stopping the spread of this virus,” he added.
Marshall and his family makes face visors to distribute in the Mitchells Plain community. Picture: Brendan Magaar/African News Agency (ANA)
“All we want to do is help so we are not charging anything for these face visors, all we ask is for those who can to please donate 3D printing filament and laminating paper (for fused deposition-modelling 3D printers). It will be greatly appreciated.”