News and Insights of 3D Printing and Manufacturing
3D printing company Essentium Inc. has announced a partnership with chemicals company LEHVOSS Group, through which it has developed high-performance materials for industrial-scale extrusion 3D printing processes. The materials are certified and meet the standards required for applications in the aerospace, automotive, oil and gas, biomedical and electronic manufacturing industries.
Since announcing its strategy to support COVID-19 relief efforts by leveraging its 3D printing resources to produce face shields for medical workers, Stratasys has reportedly received requests for over 350,000 units of the protective equipment. To help meet this growing demand for much-needed equipment, Stratasys is seeking members to join its COVID-19 coalition. To date, the coalition consists of over 150 members, including Boeing, Toyota Motor Company, Medtronic, Dunwoody College of Technology, the University of Central Florida and the University of Minnesota.
Hong Kong was one of the first regions to get hit by the COVID-19 outbreak and also one of the first to effectively reduce the rate of contagion. 3dpbm reported early on about local firms 3D printing face shields for healthcare workers. Now a number of other maker projects (and videos) have emerged that can provide some valuable lessons for printing filtration adapters to use on standard 3M masks to protect against coronavirus. Disposable surgical masks had been in shortage since late January, so Hong Kong makers come up with various 3D printable designs to adapt a 3M half mask to extend the number of times it can be reused [STLs available here]
Our friends at Polish 3D printing media portal CentrumDruku3D reported on the story of – and introduced us – to Przemysław Stachura, who came up with the design of a 3D printed adapter for DAR filter to transform a 3M mask into a special type of PPE. The model [available here to download] quickly caught the attention of paramedics in Poland and other nations, who expressed a desire to test and use it
COVID-19 is a high infectivity virus that is mainly transmitted through droplets released into the air by coughing or sneezing. To prevent infection in highly contaminated hospital environments, medical workers who are in close contact with patients must wear personal protective equipment (PPE) including masks, gloves, and respiratory systems to prevent infections transmitted through the nose and mouth. In addition to the safety PPE equipment listed above, other critical protection equipment are safety goggles. These are just as important as masks in protecting medical personnel against infection.
The AM for COVID-19 Forum was launched to enable medical providers to communicate to AM providers what is needed at the front lines. As we’ve seen, the two most critical things needed at this point in time (besides medical staff), are emergency products like mass-produced protective masks and ventilators, which will be needed in mass numbers very soon. While AM is not a technology used for mass production, it has two significant advantages over traditional manufacturing: it can produce locally and can begin production immediately and these are, in any emergency, key advantages.
Weapon industry firms in Italy are considered strategic assets and are therefore not subjected to the same forced closures of other less strategic national assets. So Beretta, one of the largest arms makers in the world, decided to chip in with the effort to produce needed medical parts by making its fleet of 3D Systems SLS 3D printers available to print replacement Venturi valves for noninvasive ventilation of COVID-19 patients.
What can the additive manufacturing industry represent in regards to this global pandemic we are experiencing? The first ideas that come to mind are the ability to offer a solution when supply chains are interrupted, thanks to a more localized production, and greater automation, considering the restrictions on interpersonal contact and transport. It is also becoming increasingly evident that additive manufacturing can provide a real response to the emergency. The initiative launched by CECIMO, the European Association for the Additive Manufacturing Industry, has garnered great interest in this regard. We spoke about it exclusively with Vincenzo Belletti, CECIMO Innovation Policy Manager.
Dozens of organizations and hundreds of additive manufacturing companies are racing to help governments and healthcare institutions around the world address the shortage of life-saving respiration aids for intensive care COVID-19 patients who have difficulties breathing autonomously. 3D printing COVID-19 devices can be a viable option in some cases and 3dpbm has reported on many of these. However, in many cases, there is a limited flow of accurate information on the difference between the various types of machinery used according to the severity of each situation.
Siemens today announced that it is making its Additive Manufacturing Network and in-house 3D printing capabilities available to medical providers across the globe to help accelerate the design and manufacturing of in-demand medical components. Siemens hopes its resources will help to meet the growing demand for 3D printed medical equipment in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.