Back in April 2020, we spoke with 13-year-old David Simmons, who was busy using his 3D printer to create face shields for his community. Less than a year later, David's been chosen as one of three US Cellular Future of Good winners for all his hard work. WCBU's Daniel Musisi recently checked in with David to hear about his award and about what he’s been up to this year.
David's stepped up the pace of production after a local college offered him the money for a new 3D printer to help him fulfill orders faster.
"So now I have a new 3D printer. And it's so much better. I've I printed the 50 face shields, probably within two weeks, which would never have happened," said Simmons.
He’s printed about 150 face shields to date. Demand has slowed, so David has begun designing other things for his community. His most successful new project has been a 3D-printed reminder card.
"It's hard to explain. But it pretty much reminds… it's meant for reminding seniors to do tasks around the house or take their medication or things like that. And I've been working on designing and prototyping that," he explained.
Continued work on this new project can now be funded by his Future of Good winnings. David won $10,000, along with the title of Future of Good winner. He was nominated for the award by his first client who also assisted with the design of his face shields.
He’ll continue work on the senior reminder cards. While he hasn’t decided exactly how he will invest his $10,000 prize, David is grateful for the money and has a few ideas.
"I can use some of the money on a filament for that… on the plastic for that. Just keeping my printer in good repair. I haven't really decided on the things I'm going to use it for. But it just opens up a lot more possibilities," he said.
"Because if I wanted to… if I saw a use for, for instance, like a laser cutter, I could buy a laser cutter and use that… to compliment my 3D printer. And that could open up a whole new realm of possibilities. And I could make a ton of other things for my community."
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