--- title: "3D printing helps victims of the Venezuela earthquake" url: https://www.voxelmatters.com/3d-printing-helps-victims-of-the-venezuela-earthquake/ date: 2026-07-08 modified: 2026-07-08 lang: en author: "Roksana Slusarczyk" description: "Bambu Lab has launched a 48-hour charity fundraiser to support victims of the June earthquake in Venezuela. Starting on July 13 at 8:00 AM UTC−4, customers shopping in the company's..." categories: - "3D Printing Filaments" - "Makers" - "Medical AM" tags: - "future" image: https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Zrzut-ekranu-2026-07-08-001317-e1783462486957-640x426.png word_count: 800 --- # 3D printing helps victims of the Venezuela earthquake [Bambu Lab](https://www.voxelmatters.directory/company/bambu-lab/) has launched a 48-hour charity fundraiser to support victims of the June earthquake in Venezuela. Starting on July 13 at 8:00 AM UTC−4, customers shopping in the company's US and EU stores can use the code 4Venezuela when purchasing PLA Basic Refill spools in the colors of the Venezuelan flag, yellow, blue, and red, while supplies allocated for the campaign last. For every eligible purchase, Bambu Lab will donate an amount equal to the filament's full retail price to UN Crisis Relief. This means that even if customers buy the filament at a discounted price, Bambu Lab will cover the difference so that $20 from every spool is donated. ![](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Zrzut-ekranu-2026-07-08-000836-e1783462276605-340x294.png) ![](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Zrzut-ekranu-2026-07-08-000907-340x290.png) ![](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Zrzut-ekranu-2026-07-08-000857-340x290.png) ### A Disaster of Historic Scale On June 24, northern Venezuela was struck by two earthquakes 39 seconds apart, measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, with epicenters near Yumare in Yaracuy State, approximately 160 kilometers west of Caracas. The USGS immediately issued a red alert, forecasting a high number of casualties. These were the country's strongest earthquakes since 1900, when a magnitude 7.7 event occurred. Both quakes originated along a strike-slip fault within the San Sebastián and Boconó fault system, the same system whose rupture destroyed Caracas during the War of Independence in 1812. The figures continue to rise but remain uncertain, as Venezuela has one of the world's most restrictive media environments and most information comes directly from government sources. On July 1, the National Assembly reported more than 3,500 deaths and over 16,000 injuries, with tens of thousands of people still missing. UNDP estimated direct damage at approximately $6.7 billion, equivalent to roughly six percent of the country's GDP, while satellite analysis identified nearly 58,870 damaged buildings. Around 1.8 million people, including 680,000 children, require humanitarian assistance. ![](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Zrzut-ekranu-2026-07-08-001325-640x426.png) This places the disaster alongside the 2023 earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, where two major earthquakes also struck vulnerable building stock, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake, which hit a country already weakened by a collapsed healthcare system. Venezuela enters this disaster under similar conditions, following years of underinvestment in its hospitals. ### Who Started Printing Before the Campaign Began ![](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Zrzut-ekranu-2026-07-08-001811-190x340.png) The first to assist those affected was Ostec3D, a Venezuelan initiative specializing in 3D printed orthoses, which made thermoplastic splint files available through a public Google Drive archive. Anyone with access to a printer and materials could produce them, while volunteers coordinated their efforts through r/3Dprinting on Reddit and the PrintForHelp community. Nober Alejandro Peña Santos worked on behalf of Ostec3D. At the same time, LayerLab, Bambu Lab's distributor in Venezuela, represented by Carlos Javier Hernández Carrillo, maintained production of hand splints and oxygen connectors. Independently, the company donated 160 kilograms of filament and dedicated its own printing capacity to ensure the printed parts reached the affected regions. Bambu Lab supplied LayerLab with filament and printers, while its team established direct contact with Ostec3D engineers to tailor support to the most urgent local needs. On July 3, Bambu Lab LATAM pledged $50,000 in financial assistance. The United States announced approximately $150 million in aid, while the European Union committed more than $5 million. Given that total damages are measured in the billions, however, these amounts represent only the beginning. ### 3D Printing Where Logistics Break Down Compared to those figures, the donation tied to the price of a single filament spool is a modest gesture, and Bambu Lab's own announcement acknowledges this, giving priority to the grassroots community while presenting the 4Venezuela campaign as a way for people outside the country to contribute as makers. ![](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Zrzut-ekranu-2026-07-08-001333-640x355.png) This is where 3D printing demonstrates its narrow but very real value. It makes it possible to produce a single part quickly and inexpensively, on site, when there is no alternative because supply chains have failed and the bridge to La Guaira has collapsed during one of the 600 aftershocks. A splint printed locally is better than a perfect splint stranded on the other side of a destroyed road. At the same time, 3D printing cannot replace factories or hospitals, and no reasonable person claims otherwise. ![](https://www.voxelmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Zrzut-ekranu-2026-07-08-001619-340x270.png) ### Lessons from Previous Crises The oxygen connector does not appear in this story by accident. The same component became essential in 2020, when shortages of ventilators led the community to print oxygen splitters, valve adapters, face shields, and replacement parts for medical equipment that became unavailable after centralized supply chains failed. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the same community produced tourniquets and equipment components that were urgently needed both on the front lines and in supporting areas. The Bambu Lab fundraiser runs for 48 hours, beginning on July 13, and includes three PLA Basic Refill colors matching the Venezuelan flag. The company announced that after the campaign concludes on July 15, it will publish the total amount raised and confirm that the donation has been transferred to UN Crisis Relief.