Abingdonian 2020

46 The Abingdonian Summer 2020 PPE Manufacture at Abingdon At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a huge demand for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from hospitals, local GPs and pharmacists. Many of these key workers are parents, and they contacted the school to see if we could help out. The Design & Technology Department began experimenting with different design solutions using their manufacturing facilities. Prototypes were developed using the 3D printers and laser cutters, with the design quickly being refined by Mr Johnson in order to improve the speed of manufacture and feature more economical use of material. This soon became a national effort, with D&T departments across the country sharing their designs and experiences in order to help meet nationwide demand. We were overwhelmed with requests and interest from local and national organisations, and produced well over 1,000 products in the weeks leading up to Easter. To speed up manufacture, we outsourced some of the laser cutting to local firms who went out of their way to help us meet the demand, and enabled us to provide essential PPE to many local health care providers. This department effort was met with huge support from our boys. Many wanted to help with assembly and distribution, as well as many using their home 3D printers to aid manufacture, working with local and national crowdsourcing organisations. Huge congratulations go to Toby Lee (third year), Harry Watkins (fifth year), and Benjamin Broadbent and Freddie Nicholson (Lower Sixth), who between them produced a significant number of protective visors. Benjamin set up a crowdfunding site to cover his material costs and raised almost £1,000, which is an exceptionally notable achievement. Dan Hughes