FabLab Rwanda, a local franchise of a global digital manufacturer network, is creating full-face shields for medical frontliners to leverage Rwandas fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon verification and approval procedures which are underway by the Rwanda Biomedical Center, the lab will jet in with production capacity of 500 masks per day, said Danny Bizimana, its general manager. The transparent, single-use hospital masks are made from ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) - a common thermoplastic with high rigidity that can be easily extruded into thin filaments and is also used as a material for 3D printers. The company, initially, planned to make face makes with 3D printing, said Bizimana, but failed to ship in the printers and most of the materials due to the coronavirus crisis which engulfed economic activities globally. Alternatively, the group learned of ABS which can be locally available. Still, the challenge that businesses are closed poses its own burden to Bizimana and his team. We need to find ABS sellers at their homes, and present an official permit which allows them to sell you something, Bizimana said. But with a go-ahead and support by the RBC, we hope the process will be smooth and we can increase our production capacity as the demand rises. Instead of using 3D printers, the masks are cut by a Laser machine from a computer-aided-design model. Unlike common cloth masks that cover half of the face, FabLabs innovative masks shield the whole face and minimize risks of frequently touching ones face and, hence, exposure to the virus. Although the masks are wearable by any individual, they are designed with medical fashion. However, before lockdown, Moto taxi riders had been ordered to take windshields off passengers helmet, assuming that movement restriction measures are lifted, the masks would serve as face shields against the virus, and protect eyes from wind- hazards.
