According to Godenzi it's important to make it clear that the real innovator is Damiano Primiceri, a 3D developer from Rome, Italy.

It was he who developed the 3D file, a sort of assembly instructions for the face masks."We're just reproducing the file that Damiano put on the Internet for free a few days ago," Godenzi clarified.

The Roman designer explains his motivations via Whatsapp: "My goal was that everyone in the world should have the possibility to print the face mask at home - with their own 3D printer and for free," said Primiceri.

The 29-year-old architecture graduate got the idea in the evening while watching news about the corona virus on television. "I realized that there are practically no face masks left. So I grabbed my computer and in less than two hours I had already developed the first prototype."

After two days of work, he was then able to put the 3D file online. In less than 24 hours, the file has already been downloaded more than 3,000 times worldwide.

Thanks to Damiano, any 3D printer owner can now produce protective masks.

"That's where the genius of 3D printer technology comes in," Hess explains, "the product can be designed anywhere in the world and then manufactured exactly where it's needed." With decentralized manufacturing, there are no delivery costs and especially no customs fees, and in a time where trade is challenged by the pandemic, 3D printing could be the right solution.