This Medal was designed as a thank you and memento to all of those who came together at the start of the pandemic in 2020 to donate their time, money, expertise, and materials to create 3D printed face shield PPE when there was a shortage in the Hudson Valley.

Created by the students, staff, and faculty in the Hudson Valley Additive Manufacturing Center using an amalgamation of digital fabrication processes, the medal is 3D printed in 17-4 PH Stainless Steel from a Desktop Metal Studio System and then cut on a HAAS TM-2P 3 axis milling machine to create the machined features. After being hand finished, the medal was engraved using the HAAS mill.

A custom 3D printed fixture made of 9085 ULTEM was designed and produced using a Stratasys Fortus 400MC to hold the part in the milling vise for the machining steps.

The outer borders take their shape from the final design of the band of the face shields, as optimized for 3D printing. The background displays the counties in the Hudson Valley where the face shields were produced and distributed, reflecting the collective nature of the work. At the center is the logo for SUNY New Paltz, where the project originated. The reverse side is engraved with the date and a maker mark with the number “32725” representing the total number of face shields created by the HVAMC and our partners.