Alliant Energy works with Iowa State to 3D print face shields for hospital workers

Alliant Energy is working with students at Iowa State University to manufacture face shields from 3D printers and distribute them to medical professionals at hospitals in Iowa.

This effort will protect hospital staff, who need more personal protective equipment to treat patients with coronavirus (COVID-19). The face shields are being printed on 3D printers at Iowa State University’s Computation and Construction Lab (CCL) within the College of Design.

Alliant Energy is funding the 3D printing and donating the supplies to university. The team hopes to manufacture up to 2,000 shields.

“Alliant Energy is committed to serving and helping our customers and communities,” Linda Mattes, vice president of Customer and IT Operations at Alliant Energy, said. “We’re proud to partner with Iowa State University during this health crisis to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus and save lives.”

Two Alliant Energy employees were inspired by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ comments during a recent press conference on the use of 3D printers. As a result, they reached out to Iowa State University to launch the initiative.

Eight Iowa State students work in rotating shifts in a ‘socially distanced’ assembly line to put the parts of the shields together. To create the face shields, the students are using 30 3D printers. The students are 3D printing the top and bottom segments of the shields while adding a clear plastic cover and elastic band to secure around a person’s head. It takes two to three hours to print the parts for each face shield. Each student wears gloves and continuously disinfects the work area and materials. Upon completion, the shields are disinfected again before being placed in sealed containers.

The effort at Iowa State is being overseen by Shelby Doyle, assistant professor of architecture and co-founder of Iowa State’s Computation and Construction Lab.

“The student employees are making the best of a really challenging moment where a lot of us feel really helpless as we watch this pandemic unfurl,” Doyle said. “Fabricating face shields is a small way for us to engage that’s within our capabilities.”

Also, Alliant Energy, which provides energy to customers in Wisconsin and Iowa, donated over 800 N95 masks to medical facilities and organizations in Iowa.