Fab labs, suppliers of protective material against COVID-19 for Europe
Fab labs are part of the CAR3D project, a European initiative for providing enterprises, organisations, hospitals and the public with the digital manufacture of protective equipment against COVID-19, such as face screens and other personal protective equipment (PPE).
Under CAR3D, a project being carried out through EIT Health, the European Union is creating a benchmark platform for users to download files and print personal protective equipment, find PPE suppliers and improve European production capacities in the fight against COVID-19 and other, future emergencies.
The CAR3D project in Catalonia is being led by CIM UPC in conjunction with the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, BCN3D Technologies and the University of Barcelona.
CAR3D has the challenge of designing and producing a new generation of face masks and other personal protective equipment with the best possible features (comfort, reuse, lightness and level of protection, among other things) and which satisfy the certificates and specifications set out by the European Union.
As fab labs worked in this line at the very start of the pandemic, they were invited to join the initiative and now appear on the European map of protective-material suppliers, in addition to garnering new ideas, collaboration partners and professional connections to ensure the project advances even further.
