Belgian 3D printing company opens door to simple Covid-19 prevention

Paddle-shaped door extension keeps your hands clear of germs

Life

Materialise's 3D-printed door opener is a simple solution to what could become a widespread problem

The Covid-19 pandemic is going to present people with many challenges to their day-to-day lives, not least of which is how to limit contact with surfaces or objects that may be contaminated. One Belgian company has produced a novel way to open doors with your forearm using a 3D-printed paddle-like device that removes the need to touch a doorknob.

Materialise’s hands-free door opener can be fitted to a door handle without drilling holes or replacing the existing door handle.

The idea for the 3D printed door handle originated at an internal meeting to define measures to protect Materialise’s employees and visitors. It soon became clear that more people could benefit from this design and the company decided to make it available for free.

“The power of 3D printing in combination with Materialise’s three decades of 3D printing expertise made it possible to turn an idea into an innovative product in less than 24 hours,” said Fried Vancraen CEO of Materialise. “By making the design available digitally, it can be produced on 3D printers everywhere and become available around the world in a matter of hours. In this case, we designed the product in Belgium and people in China, Europe or the U.S. can now 3D print the door opener locally.”

The design file can be downloaded at https://www.materialise.com/en/hands-free-door-opener.

TechCentral Reporters

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