POULSBO — Steven Ward got into 3-D printing to make his own Dungeons and Dragons characters and terrains. But in the coronavirus pandemic, he's turned his hobby into a calling to produce critical medical gear.

The 56-year-old Poulsbo resident spotted a face shield design pattern last week he could adopt for his two Creality Ender printers.

"When I saw that design, I said, 'I can actually make this, I can help out,'" said Ward, a manager of data centers who was laid off in a major reorganization of Expedia.com earlier this year. "I wanted to help the frontline people — we’ve got to protect them as much as we can."

Ward is among the first of the hobbyists in the blossoming 3-D printing world in Kitsap to take up the cause for responders and health care providers in a time of shortages of crucial gear in the fight against COVID-19.

The Navy is stepping in to amplify the work of those like Ward.

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'To meet the call of our nation'

After enlisting help on Facebook to find both support in making the shields and places where they could be donated, Ward heard from the Navy's undersea warfare center and was invited Tuesday to the Keyport base. The Navy is planning to produce even more gear with its printers.

Machines the size of commercial refrigerators with sophisticated printing capabilities make parts for warships at the Navy's research and development lab at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center-Keyport. The team can print plastics and even metals like titanium.

"We are using our skills and technology to meet the call of our nation to respond to this crisis," said the lab's technical director, Dr. Marty Irvine. "We are honored to do our part, providing our first responders the necessary personal protective equipment ... to safely execute their mission.”

Kristin Carver, Keyport spokeswoman, said the Keyport team is "responding to an urgent request" from the Washington State Health Care Response Team for equipment and is working with other Navy commands, including the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Team members are heeding the call to help the response team, headed by retired Vice Adm. Raquel C. Bono, as well as directly with local health care providers, Carver said.

Already, the team has produced about 50 prototypes as of Tuesday, "and should be producing at scale within a few days," she said, estimating that will amount to between 200 and 300 masks.

The team plans to continue doing so as long as necessary, or until a higher priority need is identified, Carver said.

Turning office supplies into shields

Even with the Navy's involvement, Ward is still producing masks on his own as a one-man manufacturing shop. The "ink" his printer uses is a plant-based, biodegradable filament. At present supply, he can make more than 500 frames for the face shields. He went to office supplies stores in the area and bought up as many plastic binding covers as he could, inserting them into the frame. Finally, he bought hundreds of dollars worth of elastic as the final ingredient in his face shield.

"I can produce 12 to 16 on a good day," he said.

He's delivering them as they come off the press and are assembled. Clinics from Bainbridge to Silverdale have been the recipients, and he's dropped a number off at local fire departments.

There's a need for N95 masks and gowns at all levels of the health care system. Right now, many local fire departments say they have adequate stock, but it's only a matter of time before it runs out.

"Our burn rate will exceed our back stock of supplies at some point, so we’re monitoring our stock very closely," said Ileana LiMarzi, spokeswoman for Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue. "... We’re working very hard to acquire additional necessary protective equipment to keep our crews healthy and ready to serve."

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