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Local high school students in 3D printing club create PPE for workers

Posted at 8:40 AM, Jun 17, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-17 11:40:51-04

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- For students in the 3D printing club at Westview High in Poway whose goal was never to hit the 'print' button, they've come a long way.

"It feels really amazing to know the 3D printing club is helping those who are in need."

Victor Ku is president for Westview High's 3D printing club that started up this past year.

When the club started, their mission was purely educational. They wanted to create a curriculum and teach people the basics of 3D printing because they didn't have the money to actually print anything.

"It can be very expensive and super confusing at first which is why we believe all these limitations shouldn’t restrict one from getting the opportunity to learn its such an amazing tool."

Then when March came around, Victor said "we were back to square one. We didn’t really know what to do and we realized we need to quickly pivot towards the communities needs and in this case it was face shields or personal protective equipment."

That's when the team of young and aspiring engineers got to work and finally hit 'print'.

"We took a small break and waited for all the design and the actual professional engineers to perfect the design before we started mass producing these face shields," Victor said.

They've donated about 400 face shields to five different organizations, and are some of the youngest people to make a difference.

"We’ve distributed them to hospitals, hair salons and post offices to name a few. That little bit could definitely help save any lives."

With things easing up, Victor said they want to widen their distribution list. They're also accepting donations to help buy supplies to create more face shields.