“This effort is an excellent example of the collaborative power of 3D printing, and a testament to humankind’s ability to innovate on the fly and come together in a time of need.”

Like many other firms, Weber Thompson’s physical office is closed and our staff are sheltering at home, working at their home offices. We’re setting up Zoom calls with clients and using Slack to communicate freely with one other about our project work. We’re setting up weekly virtual happy hours to stay connected and to laugh a little. We are fully operational, although adjusting to this new temporary reality. We also recognize that we are incredibly lucky to have the ability to work remotely with a little adjustment, other than learning the ins and outs of virtual communication and juggling family and home life demands.

At the same time, our hearts and thoughts also go to those on the frontlines of this crisis. To help out in an immediate way, we’ve turned our 3D printer into a face shield production machine. We’ve connected with Seattle Makers, the local organization that helped us create our Artifact mini-games in 2018 and are contributing to an effort in Seattle to 3D print at least 5,000 protective face shields. If you have a 3D printer at your home or office, we encourage you to join this effort by contacting Seattle Makers to find out how you can get involved.

“3-D printing allows people to share models digitally all over the world and literally “print” them 3-dimensionally in their offices or even at home! People can rapidly produce these iterations at a relatively low cost. One of the challenges in producing medical equipment is that there are a number of different types and versions of PPE [personal protection equipment] masks, filters and other equipment. A local group of [Boeing] engineers, members of UW medicine, and local hospital representatives quickly worked together to find a design that suits our local needs and that is approved for medical use here in the PNW,” says WT Associate, David Burpee. David led the effort to produce these essential Personal Protection Equipment components.