LIVERPOOL, N.Y. -- A Liverpool couple has stepped up in a big way to help out workers at a county-operated coronavirus test site in Syracuse. They’re making 300 face shields using 3D printers in their basement.

Isaac Budmen and Stephanie Keefe, who make and sell custom 3D printers in their home under the name Budmen Industries, produced 50 of the shields using seven printers on Saturday.

Now, they are using 16 printers to pump out 250 more they plan to deliver by Friday.

“It just sort of felt right to us to do what we could to help the situation,” Budmen said.

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon gave the couple a big shout-out during his daily update on the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday.

“This is what we’re talking about when coming together as a community,” he said.

Stephanie Keefe wears a face shield she and her partner, Isaac Budmen, made for workers at a coronavirus testing site in Syracuse.Courtesy of Budmen Industries

Budmen said he and Keefe got to work designing the shields as soon as soon as they heard the county was planning to open a site in the city where people could go to be tested for the coronavirus. They figured the county would need face shields for the safety or workers performing the tests, he said.

“My partner Stephanie and I put our heads together and we put together a CAD (computer-aided design) model of a version would could make on our 3D printers,” he said. “We did that on Saturday.”

The couple, who started their business in 2017, spent most of Sunday ironing out the kinks so the shields could be produced quickly and would be comfortable to wear.

“And then, Sunday night we launched a print farm into action,” he said. “We’ve been running nonstop ever since.”

On Monday, they contacted McMahon’s office and offered to give the shields to the county.

“We said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this thing. We’re not sure who to put it in front of,'" said Budmen.

On Tuesday morning, someone from the county executive’s office called back.

“He asked how many we had,” Budmen said. “I said, you know, we got 50. He said, can we take 300? I said, you got it.”

The shields consist of a plastic visor. That’s the part that the couple make on their printers. They cut and attach the part that covers the face from clear polyethylene sheeting. That part can be easily replaced if the county does not want to sterilize the shields daily, he said.

The county has agreed to pay for the shields. But Budmen said he and Keefe have been too busy producing them to discuss a price. He estimates his cost for materials comes to $8 for each shield.

“I just said we’ll get it done,” he said. “We’re really not looking to make money off the county in this crisis. We’re just sort of looking to get through it as fast as we can.”

Staff writer Chris Baker contributed to this report.

Do you know of a business or person in Central New York doing something special in the fight to stop the spread of the coronavirus? We want to heart from you. Contact Rick Moriarty at rmoriarty@syracuse.com or (315) 470-3148.

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Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact him anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148

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