Erik Cederberg

Erik Cederberg is coowner and CTO of 3DVerkstan, a Sweden-based 3D printing knowledge center and solutions provider that serves the entire Scandinavian region. He is also cofounder of the Stockholm Makerspace, a crowdfunded, nonprofit organization and creative workshop in central Stockholm.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Erik and his colleagues noticed supply chain failures for PPE were widely reported among emergency health providers.

"I set out to explore if I could find an application where 3D printing could make a real difference both locally and globally," he says. "Face shields ended up being the top application candidate identified, with the possibility to distribute 3D printing at scale to immediately bridge production needs until traditional manufacturing supply chains caught up to the vastly increased demand."

Erik designed an easily reproducible face shield using a 3D printed headband and transparencies with holes created by regular office hole punches. From the beginning, Erik says, the face shield was intended to be printed with FFF technology, the design highly optimized for efficient production in terms of printing time and material consumption, while keeping failure rate low.

The project, created in collaboration with local health providers, inspired 3D printer operators worldwide. With their support, the heavily iterated design was submitted to the scrutiny of medical policy and safety reviewers – and in several regions and countries was selected as an authorized medical solution.

As more companies get to know the technology and discover the applications where 3D printing truly makes sense and add value, I see 3D printers becoming a vital tool in most any company that has a use for physical products in any form.