Total Corbion donates PLA to 3D printing artist's face shield project

Total Corbion PLA has donated more than a metric ton of polylactic acid resin to artist Ioan Florea's effort to produce and donate more than 4,000 3D printed closed-top face shields.

The biodegradable PLA Luminy, made from sugar cane by the Netherlands-based bioplastic company, has a high viscosity, Florea told Plastics News, "which is a very important element for extruding the filament."

It has an aesthetic advantage, too.

"It has a pleasant smell when it's melted," Florea said. "You still need to ventilate," he said, but the fumes smell "more like pancakes."

Before loading the PLA into one of 12 3D printers in his own art studio, Florea pre-dries the resin with dehumidifiers for six hours, mixes in a red pigment and produces the filament with three "lab-size" extruders, he said.

"It's kind of a round-the-clock process," Florea said.

After printing the plastic frame, he attaches a transparent film and ships the product fully assembled and ready to use. The shields have been donated to at least 13 hospitals in Illinois and New York, a July 22 news release said.

A special pathogens group at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue approved the 3D printed face shields, Marcia Peters, chief quality officer and senior associate executive director of clinical management, said.

"We are energized by the efforts taken by many around the globe to fight the coronavirus," François de Bie, senior marketing director at Total Corbion PLA, said in the release. "With our small donation of Luminy PLA, we are proud to be part of this bigger initiative to help save lives."

Florea designed the face shield frame by combining existing models he found online.

"With the crisis of this pandemic," 3D printing "became useful overnight," he said.

"Back in March and April, every hospital was confronted with shortage," Florea said. "I realized I could help."

Florea said the project gave him an opportunity to "improve and experiment" with the 3D printers to make them faster and more efficient.

Each printer has its own extruder to build or print the filament into the product, Florea said. They now extrude at a higher temperature and speed.

"It was kind of a gain for me," he said. "I learned something."

Normally, Florea creates 3D printed mixed-media paintings and sculptures.

"I was always interested in combining art with the newest technologies and materials," he said.

Anyone can donate funds to Florea's 3D printed face shield project at this GoFundMe webpage.