Makerhub

Makers have a comprehensive dashboard to find medical organizations and discover products suited to their skills
Makerhub Home Page - List of medical organization in need of supplies
Makerhub provides a curated list of supplies approved by medical groups
Registering as a maker or medical organization is quick and easy
Medical organizations can efficiently track their donations and add approved supplies

We're all in this together.

As the global COVID-19 epidemic grew, we joined an abundance of colleagues in using our DIY skills to help medical organizations. We came together to 3D print, sew, build, and donate anything we could to support those who are putting themselves in harm's way.

Makerhub was started to support those risking their health to help others. Medical organizations simply can't get the necessary supplies needed to protect themselves from their patients.

Until now, there was no organized way to handle all of these donations. Makerhub is a platform that allows any medical organization to sign up to receive donated medical supplies and connect makers to them.

How Makerhub works

Makerhub is a platform that efficiently connects DIYers capable of sourcing PPE supplies to medical organizations. Using our expanding network of 3D printing enthusiasts, sewing hobbyists, molding professionals, and designers we are able to leverage individuals to mass-produce supplies that organizations are having a hard time getting their hands on.

Additionally, hospitals and other medical organizations can easily register to receive supplies and provide the details needed so makers can ship or drop-off supplies to the correct locations.

Tech Stack and API

The Makerhub platform is a web application built on top of Ruby on Rails. The front-end uses HTML/CSS/Javascript and the Bootstrap UI framework.

We're also opening up our API for consumption by others. While Makerhub is a great way to find and discover local organizations in need, we've learned this community can create amazing things when given the resources.

Early Concerns

Early on, we saw articles describing legal situations in which DIYers were being sued for their creations. To combat this, we added a comprehensive user agreement and formed a 501c3 to protect our assets.

Accomplishments

We have over 500 makers registered on Makerhub. As our site goes live and organizations sign up to receive supplies, our network of makers will be getting to work.

We're proud of how easy it was to find people interested in supporting this cause. It has been an amazing reminder that people will come together to support each other during hard times.

What's next for Makerhub

Upcoming Features/Changes:

We see Makerhub as an essential platform to source items quickly in situations where they aren't available through traditional means. The crowd-sourced nature of the site allows us to localize manufacturing near organizations that need supplies the most.
Medical professionals aren't the only people at risk. Millions of people have already filed for unemployment and that number is rising. We want to add financial incentives to larger or more complex jobs on the platform.