Collaborators:
- Moonlighter FabLab – Laser Cutting Face Shields, 3D Printing Head Bands, Miami Hub
- Mario The Maker – Coordinator
- Coke Florida – PETG Plastic Donation
- OSMS – National Organization Coordinating Maker Efforts
- Maker Effect Foundation – Central and South Florida Regional Coordinator, Orlando Hub
- Z Create Designs – Breaking Down 1 Ton Rolls Into Smaller Batches for Distribution, Melbourne Hub
- Velossa Tech Design – 3D Printing Head Bands on Print Farm
- Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden – 3D Printing Head Bands
- FIU Carta – 3D Printing Head Bands
- Addigy – Volunteer Assembly
- MakeMIA – Coordinating Regional Logistics
- RamTech Coral Park First Robotics – 3D Printing Headbands + Post Processing
- Gulliver Schools – 3D Printing Headbands
- Carrollton Schools – Laser Cutting N95 Ear Savers
- Sandra Contreras / First Robotics – Coordinator
- UM – Miami Med Covid Help – Sanitizing, Assembly, and Distribution to Medical Facilities
- 3D Verkstan – Design of Open Source 3D Model for Head Band
- ACVDO.CO – In-Kind Campaign Design Support
- Badia – Donation of Boxes
- Watsco – Warehousing Bulk Materials / Donations
- Miami Bayside Foundation – Outreach
- CreArte | The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation – Grant Funded Equipment Activated for Production
- The Knight Foundation – Underwriting Fabrication Equipment to Scale Efforts
- Bantam Tools – In-Kind Equipment to Scale Efforts
The Response
Upon the surge of the Covid-19 pandemic, Moonlighter FabLab served as the South Florida Hub for the Open Source Medical Supplies collective – coordinating volunteers as well as fabricating and distributing PPE for medical facilities and organizations serving populations with vulnerable health conditions.
The Impact
Locally, our community created and delivered over 18,000 pieces of free PPE, valued at over $350,000. The international maker community connected through the OSMS network manufactured and delivered over 48 million pieces of PPE and medical supplies valued at over $271 million dollars.
The Legacy
This was a landmark example of the power of distributed manufacturing collectives and the capabilities of digital fabrication to solve large scale global challenges. School maker labs, Makerspaces, fablabs, and small manufacturing businesses rose to meet the need when the global supply chain was disrupted.
Design files were open-sourced and shared freely, a few key components were approved by the NIH, and communities created their own material sourcing, manufacturing, assembly, and distribution supply chain to serve their local regions.
The entire experience was inspiring – when the world was experiencing a collective distress, people were empowered to make and deliver practical solutions, using their time and skills to make a difference.