MakerOS, which has offices in Detroit and New York, has launched Makers Against COVID, an on-demand distributed fabrication and 3-D printing network that can rapidly produce equipment to fight COVID-19.
Organizations can connect with vetted fabricators and 3-D printing companies to request bulk orders of equipment to protect against COVID-19, including personal protective equipment such as face shields and masks, parts for ventilators and respirators, and contactless door openers. The initiative already has delivered supplies.
Making equipment with fabricators and 3-D printing skips over traditional supply channels, allowing for rapid production and supply of large orders. Manufacturing that could take weeks or months for traditional manufacturers can take a day or two with 3-D printing.
The organization is open to any fabrication or 3-D printing company to enlist their skills and equipment. The network is powered by MakerOS Overflow, an online supply and sales channel consisting mostly of MakerOS clients that have already produced more than 10,000 face shields. With Makers Against COVID, Overflow will handle the logistics between requests and production.
MakerOS intended to beta launch Overflow later this year as a supply and sales channel for 3-D printing, digital fabrication, and product development companies. It accelerated the launch in response to the pandemic and demand for equipment.
“We recognize that there’s an immediate supply gap for emergency equipment where traditional and foreign fabrication companies are not nimble or lean enough to meet this demand,” says Mike Moceri, CEO and founder of MakerOS. “We’re able to help fill this gap, and that’s why we beta launched Overflow to power Makers Against COVID.”
MakerOS was founded in 2015 and is a web-based collaboration platform for 3-D printing and digital fabrication companies designed to help them better collaborate with their clients throughout the lifecycle of projects.
More information on Makers Against COVID is available here or by emailing info@makeros.com.
Recently, MakerOS released its Public Autoquoter, an automatic self-serve online program for additive manufacturing and product development companies to quote and estimate the cost of projects. More information is available here.
