12 replies to this topic

[mab01uk]

Formula 1 teams are working with government and health authorities to increase the supply of ventilators during the coronavirus crisis.
Ventilators are a device used to help supply more air to patients with breathing difficulties, one of the effects of severe coronavirus symptoms.
The majority of F1 teams are aiming to work out ways to use their engineering facilities to boost production.
F1 said the aim was to "provide as much help and assistance as we can".
A spokesman said: "The F1 community is engaged in discussions with all the relevant stakeholders regarding this issue and we will provide further details in due course."
 number of teams have applied-technologies divisions that could directly feed into the national production capacity of ventilators in the UK and Italy, particularly McLaren, Red Bull, Williams, Mercedes and Ferrari.
But all teams have advanced manufacturing capability that could potentially be used to make complex devices such as this, and as many will help as can.
The idea is to increase the supply of the existing design of ventilators rather than try to come up with a new approach.
The UK is estimated to need an extra 20,000 ventilators to deal with the crisis as it develops over the coming months.
https://www.bbc.co.u...rmula1/51963897

 

[mab01uk]

Article from 'The Engineer' magazine in link below, good to see many UK engineering & manufacturing companies seem up for this challenge in the 'Comments' section at the end of the article.
Government calls on manufacturers to help make NHS ventilators:-
https://www.theengin...entilators-nhs/

 

Just watching the Sky News headline film report from a hospital in Northern Italy today is a shocking wake up call on a warning of what may happen in the UK.

Edited by mab01uk, 20 March 2020 - 12:57 PM.

[DeadSquare]

The F1 teams are working on a device that passes the hot air that you breath out, through a fan, that drives another fan, which blows cold air back into the lungs.

[Ethel]

Sars braking system?

[mab01uk]

Well done to Smiths Group for releasing their IPR in this time of need:-

 

"British technology firm Smiths Group says it is making the details of one of its ventilators available for other manufacturers to produce, in an attempt to tackle the shortage of equipment.

It comes as British engineering firms have been called on to switch to making medical ventilators, which helps breathing by getting oxygen into the lungs and removing carbon dioxide.

The group's Smiths Medical unit is also ramping up its own ventilator production, as well as providing intellectual property and advice to other companies to make its PARAPAC Plus lightweight ventilators.

A spokesperson said: "We are doing everything possible to substantially increase production of our ventilators at our Luton site and worldwide."

Ford, Honda, car parts firm Unipart, digger maker JCB, and aero-engine maker Rolls Royce are among companies looking into the feasibility of switching some production.

Japanese carmaker Nissan is also looking at manufacturing ventilators, as it confirmed it is halting UK vehicle production for the foreseeable future."

https://www.bbc.co.u...post_type=share

 

 

 

 

[mab01uk]

GTech swaps vacuums for ventilators in bid to ease NHS coronavirus supply crisis
Worcester home appliance firm said supplies could be made available within days after engineers began work on project at weekend.
A Midlands company which specialises in making home and garden appliances has designed a medical ventilator to be used in hospitals in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gtech said the ventilator could be manufactured in a “matter of days”, amid concerns that critical care facilities in the UK will come under pressure as the crisis intensifies.
The owner of Gtech began working on the project on Sunday, when the Government’s chief commercial officer asked if the company could assist in increasing the number of ventilators in the UK.
With current stock at around 8,000, Nick Grey, owner of Gtech, said he felt “compelled” to respond to calls for help from the Government.
“At first I thought it was a hoax – being asked if I could assist in making up to 30,000 medical ventilators in as little as two weeks,” he said.
“When I realised that this was a genuine need I felt compelled to help.”
A video of the ventilator in action is being presented to both the Government and NHS on Friday, as well as a design outline and parts specification.
Gtech, which is based in Worcester, specialises in making cordless vacuum cleaners and garden power tools.
Mr Grey purchased a medical ventilator as a point of reference and tasked his engineering and model-making team with designing a prototype on Monday.
Following initial difficulties with how to provide the oxygen supply, the company said the “breakthrough” was to re-purpose an everyday syringe into an oxygen-powered ram.
A valve directs oxygen into the syringe which squeezes a self-inflating air container – delivering 400ml of air directly into the patients’ lungs.
Gtech said a second syringe acts as a timer and once the “breath” has been delivered, it resets the ram ready for the next cycle, while waste gas is fed into a reservoir to enrich the patient’s air supply.
The ventilator is driven and controlled entirely from the hospital oxygen supply, meaning there is no need for electricity.
Mr Grey said: “We designed the ventilator entirely from parts that can readily be made from stock materials or bought off-the-shelf.
“This means that if Government approves and wants Gtech ventilators they can be made by almost any engineering and manufacturing company.
“Gtech could produce around 100 per day within a week or two providing we could find steel fabrication and CNC machining companies to help us make some of the parts.”
The company said it plans to produce two more ventilators, which it will submit to the Government for assessment.
https://www.birmingh...rs-bid-17955899

 

[mab01uk]

Government orders 10,000 ventilators from Dyson.
"The firm, headed by British inventor Sir James Dyson, said it had designed a new type of ventilator in response to a call on behalf of the NHS.
The order is still subject to the devices passing stringent medical tests but that is expected to happen quickly.
Dyson has had hundreds of engineers working round the clock to design the ventilators from scratch."
https://www.bbc.co.u...siness-52043767

 

[Cooperman]

My son is a design engineer at Mercedes F1 and he said that they have a very capable team working on this right now.

I saw a guy from ProDrive on TV saying that they are also involved.

If any organisation can move quickly to do this it is the big motor-sport teams.

[IronmanG]

My son is a design engineer at Mercedes F1 and he said that they have a very capable team working on this right now.
I saw a guy from ProDrive on TV saying that they are also involved.
If any organisation can move quickly to do this it is the big motor-sport teams.

My mate is working on them with merc. Says they are flat out. Nothing else is being built except mediacll

[DeadSquare]

My son is a design engineer at Mercedes F1 and he said that they have a very capable team working on this right now.

I saw a guy from ProDrive on TV saying that they are also involved.

If any organisation can move quickly to do this it is the big motor-sport teams.

 

Heaven help us, if the Renault one is anything like my Megane.

[mab01uk]

The Royal Mint is to manufacture medical visors for the NHS. Engineers at the Royal Mint have created an approved medical design in 48 hours. The first visors are already in use in hospitals in South Wales. The Royal Mint is to begin mass manufacturing medical visors for the NHS next week to provide critical protection for frontline staff.

A sportswear factory in Northern Ireland has changed tack to produce scrubs and facemasks for healthcare workers. Around 150 staff are working to meet an order of 5,000 scrubs.

Dogs are being trained by scientists to see if they can detect coronavirus through their sense of smell. It follows earlier research that showed that dogs can detect malaria. If successful, the dogs could be stationed at airports after the epidemic to prevent the disease returning.

 

[Cooperman]

I just saw on the news that UCHL and Mercedes F1 have together developed a working prototype and anticipate production starting almost immediately.

[mab01uk]

I just saw on the news that UCHL and Mercedes F1 have together developed a working prototype and anticipate production starting almost immediately.

 

BBC News link here:-

 

Coronavirus: Mercedes F1 to make breathing aid:-

https://www.bbc.co.u...health-52087002

Edited by mab01uk, 30 March 2020 - 11:46 AM.