
3D printed door handle developed in effort to reduce spread of Coronavirus - rajnathani
https://www.designworldonline.com/3d-printed-door-handle-developed-in-effort-to-reduce-spread-of-coronavirus/
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ardy42
IIRC, I read somewhere that brass/copper doorknobs naturally disinfect
themselves. If that's true, I really with they were more common.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimicrobial_properties_of_co...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimicrobial_properties_of_copper)

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im3w1l
I wonder if you could just spray paint them with metal particles.

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simcop2387
From what I've seen, yes that should work. It'll wear off much faster than
either a solid metal piece or electroplating simply because it'll be a thinner
coat but it would otherwise work.

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wintorez
I hope this becomes part of the new-normal once this pandemic is over. The
current design of door handles, especially in the public bathrooms defeats the
purpose of hand washing altogether.

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jfim
There's step n pull which I've seen in bathrooms already:
[https://www.stepnpull.com/](https://www.stepnpull.com/)

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bradknowles
So, I have pretty strong legs, good dexterity with my feet, and I usually wear
shoes with good traction on the bottom. I have never once been able to use
these damn things.

You might as well be standing on a piece of metal attached to the bottom of
the door.

Oh, wait — that’s EXACTLY what you’re doing!

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egfx
Oh that’s disappointing. I thought it would be a carry on door knob you could
put into your pocket and plug into doors like a usb charger. I think this kind
of design would work better.

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cptskippy
Or perhaps some tongs with two melon ballers on the ends so you can grab round
door knobs?

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dorkwood
On the topic of handles being disease vectors, can someone explain to me the
design of the American cross-walk button which is so small it requires a
finger press? It's also shielded by plastic around the edges so you can't get
to it with a more blunt object, such as your elbow.

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mhb
If they were actually functional, that would be a bigger problem.

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Zanni
Fun fact: some _are_ functional. The only way to know for sure is to not press
the button and watch an entire light cycle go by without an opportunity to
cross.

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WorkingDead
Yeah, but it touches the part of the shirt sleave where people wipe their
noses...

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grawprog
When I was in school I remember hearing about this technology and how it was
an exciting new possibility for sterile medical surfaces.

[https://www.livescience.com/47870-shark-skin-hospital-
superb...](https://www.livescience.com/47870-shark-skin-hospital-
superbugs.html)

Did anything ever come.of this? It seems like this is something that could be
3d printed.

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bmarotta
It doesn't look like it helps much...

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defterGoose
Yeah, that type of handle is already a lever that you can use with your
forearm. The motion is a little awkward, but it's free.

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unwind
But if the door opens towards you, it's really hard to pull on the handle with
your forearm and this would provide something to hook your arm around for
leverage.

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defterGoose
Hence the awkward part. It's not impossible.

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mackrevinack
seems over-engineered considering you could just use your sleeve (but of
course you can't make money off of that idea).

that's what I have been doing for years in any public toilet anyway. the odd
time I don't have long sleeves I just use the end of my shirt. if the handle
was too high for that I would just put my fingers through without touching and
use my palm so at least the germs would be less likely to end up on my finger
tips.

the other problem with this design is that someone could just grab onto it to
open the door instead of using the handle, and then you are pretty much back
to square one

that's just my 2 cents anyway. I'm no expert on germs

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kukai
it is completely useless! waste of resources and energy! I can bet the man who
took the decision of manufacturing it has nothing to do with engineering! and
pay 40 EURs on that! WTF?! are we stupid?

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djmips
This is all well and good but people are transmitting the virus in their
breath and by being around other people so while this might help it's a bit
like pissing into the wind I feel.

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tmitchel2
Less germs, more broken arms.

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frandroid
Okay now make ones which fits over doorknobs.

