In a new crowdsourcing initiative anyone with an idle 3D printer is being encouraged to power it up and help manufacture essential protective equipment for medical staff throughout Australia.

Key points: Idle and public-held 3D printers are needed to help create PPE supplies

Idle and public-held 3D printers are needed to help create PPE supplies Hospital-grade designs are being shared with volunteers for printing

Hospital-grade designs are being shared with volunteers for printing A Brisbane-based 3D design and manufacturing group hopes to double their output of supplies to 2,000 pieces per day

Face shields and other Therapeutic Goods Australia (TGA) approved pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) being created with 3D printers to maintain supplies to hospitals and GPs during the COVID-19 crisis.

Brisbane based 3D One Australia, who specialise in 3D design and manufacturing, are aiming to double their output with the help of the public.

CEO Michael Larkins said anyone with a 3D printer can help.

"We currently have 28 printers and the capacity for that is 500 pieces per day," Mr Larkins told ABC Radio Brisbane.

"Our neighbours have donated their warehouse so we're accepting 3D prints from around Australia from individual printer owners, universities, schools, anybody that has idle 3D printers."

The team will send the designs to 3D printing volunteers to print and return to them.

"We then sterilise the pieces and complete the fabrication and manufacturing process before sterilising them once again and packaging them," Mr Larkins said.

"We then get them to the hospitals around Australia in bulk, and that's critical as the hospital administrations don't have the capacity to deal with 10 or 20 [individual] pieces of PPE.

"They need a consistent source of supply with the quality control and the ease of logistics that come with that."

3D-printed face shields are being assembled and sterilised before going out to hospitals. ( Facebook: 3D One Australia )

Mr Larkins said the first piece of equipment the team worked on was face shields.

"The face shield goes over the surgical mask and glasses that the medical staff are wearing as an additional layer of protection if a patient is presenting and coughing while talking to a doctor or nurse," he said.

"Having that shield can really make a difference in reducing transmission.

"Also, in the ER and other parts of the hospital like intubation, when trying to keep a patient alive, that piece of PPE can be critical."

Any 3D printer can help

Mr Larkins said all 3D printers can help with many different sized parts of the PPE equipment needed.

"Don't be worried about the power or size of the 3D printer. Reach out to us and we will find a use for it and make sure the components get to the hospitals," he said.

"There are printers that help different PPE products and there really is a place for every 3D printer at the moment in getting these emergency supplies to the hospitals around Australia."

The group usually uses 3D printing to create cancer treatment medical equipment and were able to quickly move over to making specific PPE parts.

Mr Larkins added that they are creating 10 jobs to keep up with production demand.

Large and small printers can be used to help create the equipment. ( Supplied: 3D One Australia )

"We're agile and can change what we do quickly. For example, now we're also making respirators and face masks that get decked out with replaceable filters," he said.

"It's been such a collaborative effort with ourselves and a group in Australia called the Open Manufacturing Alliance who are printer operators that helped share the designs.

"Together we discussed with the hospitals what designs they were happy with, and made sure we could coordinate and organise ourselves to get the parts to the hospital in a way that is most useful to them."

If you own 3D printer and are able to help contact 3D One Australia email fdm@3d1.com.au