Hackettstown’s Centenary Stage Company has teamed with WisEngineering, of Denville, to produce 3D printed face shield holders for local healthcare and first responder personnel.

Recognizing the growing need for this type of personal protective equipment (PPE), Jonathan Young, Senior Environment Artist & Production Designer at WisEngineering, launched an initiative to organize production by their team of engineers and 3D artists.  He then reached out to area organizations with access to 3D printers, including Centenary Stage Company, where his brother, Christopher Young, serves as general manager.

“It was a no-brainer,” said Christopher. “We’re fortunate enough to have two 3D printers and we honestly couldn’t imagine a better use for them at this time.”

Face shields – hard plastic coverings that protect the face from forehead to below the chin and around both sides – prolong the life of disposable masks and aid in protection from the coronavirus.

The holders printed by Centenary Stage Company and WisEngineering are then completed with replaceable plastic sheets. Since the initiative began in early April, more than 300 face shields have been produced and donated to eight healthcare facilities.

They have received requests for additional PPE from facilities throughout New Jersey as well as states as far as Oklahoma.

Healthcare workers, first responders or other organizations interested in receiving this type of PPE may contact Christopher Young at Christopher.young15@centenaryuniversity.edu. Community members or organizations with 3D printing capabilities that are interested in helping are also encouraged to reach out.

The design is open source and free to use through 3dverkstan, a 3D printing company based out of Sweden.

Centenary Stage Company is a not-for-profit professional theater program in residency at Centenary University. The face shield program is one of many volunteer efforts at the school to produce and provide PPE.