Thank You Respirator

Many of us, who are not on the front lines fighting COVID-19, wonder what we can do to help.  We recommend that those of you with access to 3D printers start making Thank You Respirators.  If you have not already seen our video, go to https://youtu.be/_vqtQJCjjLg.  The files for creating Thank You Respirators are FREE and may be downloaded at https://bit.ly/3aTAXbf.

After you have made the respirators, put them in clean plastic bags with spare filters and give them to health care providers, a first responders, food workers, or anyone in contact with people who may have the virus.  If you know of people who are at high risk, such as seniors or those with chronic illness, these people could also benefit from using Thank You Respirators.  Show your humanity.  It is the right thing to do.

The respirator has been designed to help those fighting COVID-19 and to say "Thank You" for their service and sacrifice.  The dedication of these people is most admirable.  Let us recognize their contribution and make them a little safer.

Get busy making Thank You Respirators!!!  Pay forward our message to everyone!

A Year of Invention

We have had a productive year in advancing our endeavors.

The Tikü® Neonatal Incubator   

Tested by the Biomedical Innovation class at Middleton High School in Tampa, FL.  The students evaluated the functionality of the incubator with a non-human patient, a squash of ~1.5 kg weight, that served as a facsimile of a premature newborn infant.  This assessment was done in January during a cold front and heating in the lab was shut off during a period of the testing.  The students maintained a proper body temperature for the "infant" for more than 48 elapsed hours.  Their scientific method and reporting were very good.  They enjoyed their project and were enthusiastic about the whole experience.  

The next step for the Tikü® will be testing with human patients.  We received an offer for sponsorship from a gentleman in Guatemala, who envisions having the incubator being evaluated as part of an academic curriculum of a Masters or Doctoral student at the University of Guatemala.  We shall have to fabricate additional units for this testing.

Staxbloc™ Integrated Building Construction System  

We filed a provisional patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in January for a new building construction system that utilizes interlocking blocks that are post-tensioned with internal tendons.  The interlocking blocks facilitate construction and distribute loads, while tensioned tendons permit the building to better sustain live loads like those encountered in hurricanes and earthquakes.  We vetted the new invention with the public at the 2018 Florida State Fair in February, where it was well received by building contractors and many DIY builders. 

We visited Puerto Rico in November with a Rotary Club to help with reconstruction of the island, following last year's hurricanes.  We introduced the Staxbloc™ system to governmental and private entities and they were receptive to using Staxbloc™ to help them with reconstruction.  We have a colleague on the west side of the island with whom we shall be working in the future with implementation of the Staxbloc™ system and in establishing a school for technical and agricultural education.

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Looking ahead to 2019, we shall work to establish a shoe-string manufacturing operation for Staxbloc™ in order to erect a tiny house of ~500 sq ft.  We shall also endeavor to fabricate more incubators for the Guatemala project.  All of our projects are self-funded.  Our steps are contingent on working with clients on their innovations, so that we may have sufficient capital to move forward.

We wish you all an excellent, healthy, and prosperous New Year 2019!

Encore Presentation at 1 Million Cups

We hope that you have been having an excellent summer!

We were invited to provide an encore presentation of the Tikü® at the 1 Million Cups event in Saint Petersburg during the last week of July, http://bit.ly/2vMl9Wj.  We brought a completed incubator for the review of the assembly.  The invention and its intended service were well-received and there were many thoughtful questions.  We announced that we were seeking strategic partners for our endeavor to help us move forward.  We shall probably locate a project champion through a referral interview process; however, we welcome suggestions of possible individuals who may be interested in our humanitarian venture.

We have expanded our role in teaching digital technologies to job candidates and to grade school students.  This year, we instructed several pre-vocational classes in 3D design and fabrication and provided a certification course for entry-level CNC operators.  In early summer, we held programs at STEM camps for middle schoolers in 3D printing, subtractive manufacturing, engineering, and robotics.  Based on the response to date, we are reaching out beyond the institutions with which we have dealt previously.

We continue to work with inventors and companies in developing new products.  One of our current projects is a new innovation for the commercial beverage industry.  Also, there has been an upturn in interest in bespoke furnishings.  Since we design, program, cut, build, and finish our creations in our un-airconditioned shop, we would prefer to complete these projects at times other than the Florida summer, but we are happy for the business.

This blog has primarily served to inform our friends and customers of the activities of Designs for the World; however, we welcome your comments and feedback.

Shaping The Future

We wish everyone a Very Happy Holiday!  We hope that you will have time to reflect and celebrate with family and friends.  It has been an eventful year and we are looking ahead.

On September 6, we were awarded United States Patent No. 9,433,524 for our Portable Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  This was an important milestone for the Tikü®.  We are working on re-design and fabrication for testing and hopefully, FDA pre-marketing clearance.  This will enable us to continue with serial production of several of the incubators for field testing in Sub-Saharan Africa.  We do not have a timetable for the execution of these events but we are moving towards our goal.

In our last blog, we mentioned that Designs for the World is teaching digital technologies to students in Saint Petersburg and in Tampa.  Together with our collaborative partner, Outlaw Solutions and Concepts, we instruct a class called Introduction to 3D Digital Fabrication Tools in two local technical colleges.  We teach 3D digital design with surface-modeling and parametric CAD software, as well as additive and subtractive prototyping.  Our course has been well-received.  We taught four classes in 2016 but were initially scheduled for half that number.  We shall be expanding our instruction to others in 2017.

We assembled the 3D printers for our classes ourselves.  We were not duly impressed by the market offerings, so we decided to design and build our own 3D printer.  We just successfully tested our second working prototype and shall commence limited production during 2017.  Previously, this industry has focused on hobbyists and clubs.  We have designed our open-source machine for use in schools.  This works well with our business strategy for launching Makerspaces in local institutions.  We want to provide tools to kids for innovation in both STEM and fine arts curricula.

In addition to our own pursuits, we continue to help inventors in developing and prototyping their creations.  We have been working with a range of products in diverse industries.  Our journey has been interesting and the future looks promising.

Then and Now

We have been remiss in keeping the blog active...Sorry!  During the 487 days since our last post, Designs for the World has been very busy with many activities.  First, the Lifestyle™ Table is a now a reality.  The mobile table with induction cooking is now ready for prime time.  It works great and will be offered initially at half the price first posted.  It will soon be available on our Web site.  It will make a perfect addition to your condo balcony, student dormitory, assisted-living room, efficiency apartment, or any other home.

The status of the Tikü® is that we have re-designed the next-gen model to be more versatile and to cost one-third of the former design.  The patent is now under active review.  We are self-funding the project.  When we are able to build several incubators for donation, we have an institutional partner that has offered to work with us in undertaking field evaluation in Sub-Saharan Africa.  We do not have a timetable for introduction but we are moving ahead.

Designs for the World has found a niche in product development, 3D digital prototyping, serial production, and manufacturing liaison.  We have a collaborative partner, who has worked in manufacturing in the plastics industry for 40 years.  With our combined talents, we have worked with individual and corporate clients on innovations for the automotive, hospitality, construction, medical, electronics aftermarket, and entertainment industries.  We have been so busy working on jobs for everyone else that we have had little time to do our own projects.  We are not complaining since the income has kept us alive.

We have become champions for manufacturing.  In most communities, there are 2.5 service sector jobs for every manufacturing job.  Growing manufacturing will have a positive effect on the whole economy.  New technologies have enabled serial production of products without the large budgets of brick-and-mortar companies.  We are now teaching innovation and rapid prototyping with 3D digital tools to students, seniors, and job aspirants.  Working with local non-profit organizations, we are creating innovation labs (also known as makerspaces) in local schools, libraries, and career centers.  Today's economy deals in jobs.  We are working on creation of today's jobs and those of the future.

We have provided a glimpse of Designs for the World without getting too verbose.  Many have given us very positive feedback on our endeavors.  We are not trying to change the world.  We are just attempting to push in the right direction in order to gather a little momentum for the future.

Tables For Life

We are proud to introduce the Lifestyle and Team Spirit Tables.  Sales of these tables will enable us to continue with development, testing, and production of humanitarian innovations like the Tikü™ Neonatal Incubator.  By ordering a table on our Web site, you can enhance your life while helping to save lives.

Both tables are extremely versatile.  They are perfect additions to any home or apartment and may serve in the living room, dining room, den, or patio.  For people living in condominiums, they are an elegant solution to cooking on the balcony.  Students in dormitories or fraternities/sororities can use the table both for cooking and as a desk for studying.  Seniors in apartments or assisted-living facilities can prepare meals in their suites.  For providers of hospitality, the tables are an excellent, in-room solution for cooking in efficiency apartments or extended-stay suites.  Sports fans will love the Team Spirit Tables for tailgate parties or as an addition to a recreation room or a family room.

The tables feature safe and efficient induction cooking, so only the cookware gets hot while the top stays cool.  There is ample storage in the base for cookware and utensils.  The cabinet is completely portable and may be easily moved.  Two of the over-sized casters lock to secure the table.  Each table measures 42" (107 cm) L x 27" (69 cm) W x 29" (74 cm) H.  The table plugs into a residential electric circuit and is rated for 12 A, 120 VAC, 60 Hz, 1 Ø.  The cooking unit has approvals from UL, NSF, and FCC.

We are offering the Lifestyle Table for a pre-production price of US$2,997.00.  We are seeking a minimum refundable deposit of US$199.00 to reserve a table.  When we receive orders for 500 tables, we shall begin manufacturing and shipping.  Large orders of tables will be discounted.  We encourage you to visit our Web site and place your order.  You will have the double benefit of owning an elegant and unique furnishing and appliance and helping to further the production of humanitarian innovations for people in underdeveloped countries and in disaster or war zones.

Tell All of Your Friends About the Crowd Funding for the Tikü™ Neonatal Incubator

We are following the recommendations of many friends from around the world and launching a crowd funding campaign for the Tikü™ Neonatal Incubator on Indiegogo.com from 12 November 2014 through 11 January 2015.  You may connect to our site by clicking on the link to the right of this post.  We hope that you will visit us.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with crowd sourcing, it begins by sharing news of the campaign with your friends and family via email and social media.  These folks pass on the news to their networks, who in turn continue sharing the news.  The people who are contacted are asked to contribute to the campaign to help launch the project.

Our goal is to raise the necessary capital to fabricate several incubators for evaluation.  These will be tested by the students and staff of St. Petersburg College.  We shall then gain approval for manufacturing and quality from the FDA and the ISO.  We want travel to Haiti to demonstrate the pre-production incubators and gift them to caregivers.  When we have completed these steps, we shall be able to meet the requirements of interested agencies and commence commercial production.

We thank you in advance for your help.  Everyone has been most supportive,  when they have learned about our innovation to help reduce global infant mortality.  It is easy to encourage an endeavor that can potentially ameliorate the survival of millions of newborn babies.  Clinicians working in Sub-Saharan Africa have told us the the Tikü™ can be a "game changer".