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A Milton Keynes 15-year-old is 3D printing protective visors for NHS staff

Rudra Nakade got creative with the 3D printer he had at home – and now NHS staff are asking him to make more

by: Hannah Westwater

9 Apr 2020

We’re keeping you up to date with the good people of the UK doing good things in these tough times – and this story really impressed us.

Here, a determined Milton Keynes school boy is on a mission to help frontline medical staff stay safe while they treat Covid 19 patients by producing plastic visors in his home.

The gear created by 15-year-old Rudra Nakade, put together on one quiet Sunday night in lockdown, is so effective that healthcare workers have been putting in requests for him to make more.

“While seeing the news about the NHS not being able to get sufficient PPE (personal protective equipment) I decided to put my 3D printer to good use and started 3D printing face visors to help combat the coronavirus,” the boy said.

After giving the free visors to local NHS staff, Nakade added: “They are very grateful for this gesture but would appreciate if we could supply more. Due to increased demand, we need to scale up production.”

This pushed him to set up an online fundraiser to gather donations which will make it possible for him to meet the demands of local services where staff feel they don’t have access to the protective equipment they desperately need.

The teenager has smashed his £3,000 target and is on track to raise at least £4,000 in just five days.

Nakade said “generous donors” had supplied him with two more 3D printers to aide his efforts to support NHS staff and their vital work. “However, we need plenty of supplies of materials to print, sanitise and package.”

Grateful frontline workers have been sending him photos of them wearing the visors to show how big an impact he is having – when having PPE, something doctors and nurses say there aren’t enough supplies of, can sometimes mean the difference between life and death.

“Without these donations we will not be able to keep up with demand when the NHS staff really need it,” Nakade said. “We urge you to help NHS staff who are working tirelessly and risking their lives to save the nation from Covid 19.”

GP practices, mental health care wards and nursing homes in Milton Keynes, Northampton, Luton and Bedford have received stock of the 3D-printed plastic visors.

One contributor to the fundraiser, Martin Hawkins, said: “I donated because if any of my family need help to recover from such a terrible condition I know the NHS will be there as they have been in the past.”