Hands-Free 3D Printed Door Opener Prevents Spread of COVID-19

April 2, 2020 Accessories Monika Thakur

To help people prevent the spread of COVID-19, many designers, architects, and students are coming up with different ways or solutions to protect patients and others from transferring the disease to others. In response to the rapid spread of coronavirus, Belgian manufacturing company Materialise has also developed a wonderful solution inform of a hands-free 3D printed door opener.

As the name indicates, this hands-free door opener makes you open a door using your wrist or forearm instead of your bare hands that carry a lot of germs. This means there won’t be any need to touch the door handles, which according to scientists is a hotspot for this virus that can survive on objects for a few days.

When touched repeatedly door handles become vulnerable to transfer COVID-19, which is transmitted through direct contact with any surface touched by the infected person. So, not just public places, you also need to be careful at your own home these days.

Bryan Crutchfield, vice president of Materialise, said, “During a brainstorming session, the idea came up for a way to open doors without using your hands to try to contain the spread of the germs, and literally inside of 24 hours they turned around a design, got it on a printer, and printed the first prototype off and tried it out on one of our handles.”

When installed onto your door, this 3D printed door handle allows you to push or puull the door using your arm. This door handles looks like a paddle-shaped extension, which cleverly reduces he use of touching handle every time you need to open or close a door.

The company has even provided the printable design of this door handle for free download so that other community members can also 3D print this door opener in different parts of the world. Hopefully, tech-savvy people across he globe will make use of the opportunity to 3D print as many door handles as possible to keep coronavirus at bay. Besides that, don’t forget to keep washing your hands regularly.

Via: FastCompany