Creators of a soon-to-be non-profit organization that’s still in the development stages are already hard at work before even opening their doors.
The Foothills Makers of Diamond Valley, which has not yet received its legal designation as a non-profit, has received half a dozen requests to use its 3-D printing technology to create face shields that will help protect people from COVID-19. Co-founder Dusty Williams said the non-profit was just getting set up when the requests came in, and he’s doing what he can to help out.
“I can’t keep up with the volume, that’s the dilemma, so we have to network with others who have 3-D printers,” he said. “I know of at least four in town.”
Talks have been in the works for two years to get the non-profit organization off the ground in an effort to move Black Diamond towards becoming a self-sufficient community. The first initiative is a makerspace that turns discarded and unwanted materials into useful products.
“I had an idea to start this almost 10 years ago, but only the past two or three years has the conversation become more organized,” said Williams. “We’re waiting for the final paperwork to become a non-profit to come through.”
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Williams and co-founder Larry Ashmore have partnered with others in the community to get the initiative going, receiving finances from two benefactors. They’re working to get equipment in place to make the products and are in the process of securing a location for the makerspace, which is currently located in Williams’ shop.
Equipment includes a plastic shredder and extruder that makes the filament needed for the 3-D printer to make various products, such as face shields. Williams said the organization is currently getting its filament from a Calgary supplier.
While the face shields being made in Williams shop act as a protective measure against COVID-19, he said they aren’t certified.
“They have to be made with copper-infused PLA plastics and be certified so we’re not there yet,” he said.
Williams said the plastic 3-D printer will be one of many elements to the makerspace. He said 3-D printers will also be set up for glass, metal, paper and cardboard products, and there will also be stations for sewing, solar food dehydration, solar ovens and vertical hydroponics.
“The whole idea is to create a self-sufficient, resilient and sustainable community,” he said. “Whatever we need we will be able to create within this space so we don’t have to go outside our community for resources. We’re taking waste products and creating usable products while reducing the carbon footprint and the need for external resources.”
Once the facility is ready for operation, Williams said the public can take part in the process of creating at any of the stations, buy a kit to assemble their own product or buy the completed product, whichever they choose.
A piece of discarded plastic can be turned into a missing part on an appliance through 3-D printing, Williams said, as opposed to having a new product mined, produced, packaged and shipped overseas.
“The process takes waste materials and reuses them for other items, producing a near zero marginal cost,” he said. “Whatever we need we can take the raw materials that are looked at right now as waste and turn them into a useable product. No waste materials should have to leave our community.”
The possibilities don’t stop there. Williams said the association is applying for grants to pursue other sustainability projects from a lawn buy-back program to an off-grid greenhouse.
“These ideas we’ve had for a number of years are finally coming to fruition,” he said.
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