COVID-coping products, straight from Tampa man's 3D printer

TAMPA, Fla. - Tim Hileman has had a busy year. During the pandemic, people have been home and flying their drones more than usual and crashing.

Tim is in the drone-fixing business, and business has been good.

“I was fortunate. I found that a lot of folks were flying drones more than they usually would and individuals that had had a drone that had crashed and were too busy to get it fixed are now home with the family are looking for something to do, so my volume about tripled in drone repairs,” Tim said.

Then Tim got busier. His roommate, a nurse, asked if he could help with a mask problem.

“She got me on the idea of these mask straps which remove the pressure from behind your ears when wearing a mask all day. She saw there's a need for them in the hospital and sent me the idea,” Tim said. “It looked pretty simple. I printed a couple out to give to her for the nurses to try and they loved them.”

Then Tim’s girlfriend suggested another product idea, which became the COVID Key. It’s a simple tool you use to open doors without touching the handle.

The second thing you can use the key for is pressing buttons.

Tim has two 3D printers running all day making the two products.

“You're creating something out of nothing. You turn the printer on in the morning and a couple hours later, there's a tangible object with a purpose that's there that can be used immediately. It's just very satisfying to watch it come to life,” he offered.

LINK: You can find Tim’s products on his Fix n’ Fly Drones website: www.fixnflydrones.com/covid-19-solutions