Hack the Crisis: Engineering through COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare industry faced a large-scale personal protective equipment (PPE) shortage, which put frontline workers at risk of infection. Seeing this struggle, Ontario-based integrator and tool builder Harbour Technologies pivoted their business to include a new title — PPE manufacturer. Harbour Technologies designed a robotic cell to swiftly manufacture FDA-approved isolation…

Yesterday, President Biden announced that employers with 100 or more employees will need to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require unvaccinated workers to produce a negative COVID test result on a weekly basis. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to implement the requirement and detail…

In a difficult environment, Germany’s igus is featuring more innovations than last year — from an integrated robot drive to a ball bearing with 21 times the previous service life. The company has increased the pace of innovation despite the pandemic: high investments in digitalization, logistics and remote consulting increased online sales by 30% in 2020…

In recognition of its significant contribution to the greater Hartland area, and in particular its support for local and national businesses producing personal protective equipment (PPE) products in the fight against COVID-19, Dorner was the recipient of the 2020 Manufacturer of the Year award bestowed by the Hartland (Wisconsin) Chamber of Commerce. This award is…

Combating the Covid-19 pandemic is at the top of the global agenda. Providing vaccines to populations around the globe means providing around 8 billion doses – with only one for every person in the world. In addition to the availability of the vaccine, a decisive factor in the race against time is the disposability of…

Contact infections with viruses, fungi, and bacteria were already a problem even before the pandemic — and now JW Winco is expanding its Sanline range of antibacterial products. Bacteria with high resistance to common antibiotic therapies have been on the rise for years, especially in hospitals. These infections can become a serious problem even outside…

Companies Join Forces to Solve Ventilator Issue Cygnus Manufacturing Company (“CMC”) is a leading manufacturer and supplier of high precision products and components for the medical device, transportation, energy, and aerospace industries. CMC provides full- service manufacturing from prototype through production. As an FDA compliant and ISO 13485 medical devices certified manufacturer, a leading US ventilator company approached…

Despite the pandemic of 2020, additive manufacturing service providers are reporting a range of successes. For example, Shapeways, reports it has produced more than 20 million parts using 10 different printing technologies and 90 different materials and finishes. More than a million customers have worked with Shapeways to produce products from personal protective equipment (PPE) […]

Teschler on Topic Leland Teschler • Executive Editor [email protected] On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers got some notoriety from its research activities when it retracted more than 7,300 abstracts, most from authors in China. It turned out that most of the retractions stemmed from numerous technical conferences in Asia that…

When a patient is infected with SARS-CoV-2, intensive care physicians need pictures of the patient’s lungs quickly. Mobile X-ray devices are the most effective medical equipment for diagnostic purposes. To make time-critical work with these high-tech aids fast, safe, and uncomplicated, one international manufacturer relies on gas springs from ACE Stoßdämpfer GmbH. The central Chinese…

In the early Spring of 2020, the phone calls and emails started streaming into the mechanical engineering department of the University of Wisconsin — Madison: “We don’t have enough ventilators. Can you design something else?” Then a couple of weeks later, “Okay, we have enough ventilators; now we need personal protection equipment (PPE), face shields,…

After reviewing over 400 entries, judges of the face mask X-prize picked a team of students from Arizona State University as the winner of the $500,000 top award. The ASU team, dubbed Luminosity Lab, came up with a mask design that includes a bifurcated filtration chamber that directs hot expelled breaths away from the wearer’s…

Every day, industries across the world face unique and interlinking challenges as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. For the automotive industry, it’s a complex picture in which there are both hurdles and opportunities. Eric Pallarés, Chief Technology Officer at BCN3D, considers the impact of this tumultuous year on the automotive industry and how additive […]

Tadiran, a manufacturer of lithium batteries, offers bobbin-type lithium thionyl chloride (LiSOCl2) batteries that have been specially modified for use in the cold chain, enabling wireless sensors to continuously monitor the transport of foods, medicines, vaccines, and tissue specimens that are frozen or packed in dry ice. Bobbin-type LiSOCl2 batteries feature a non-aqueous electrolyte that…

In its current report, “Smart Sensors Market – Growth, Trends, Forecasts (2020 – 2025),” Mordor Intelligence, a market research firm,  includes information regarding the direct impact of COVID-19 as well as the indirect impact from other industries on the sensor market. Taking this into account, the report forecasts that the smart sensors market will grow […]

Toyolac’s lower molding temperatures and lower pressure requirements compared to other resin materials is proving to help increase production capacity and turnaround time for Covid-19 related medical components. With operating cylinder temperatures ranging from 210°C to 260°C, Toyolac provides smoother resin flow, increased cycle times with decreased part flash. This enhanced flowability provides increased part…

Nearly a year ago, the Power Transmission Distributor’s Association chose its theme for the 2020 Industry summit held late last week — “Adapt. Transform. Launch.” A prescient slogan if ever there was one. Now, ten months and a thousand years into 2020, election anxiety, geopolitical instability, and the resurgence of COVID-19 has everyone looking for…

At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, traditional supply chains struggled to keep up with the demand for critical need medical items. One key item in particular was the nasopharyngeal swab used for sample collection during patient testing. Many production methods were shut down due to workers being quarantined. Those facilities that were able to […]

Teschler on Topic Leland Teschler • Executive Editor [email protected] On Twitter @ DW_LeeTeschler TV watchers of the Tonight Show may recall this joke from host Jay Leno during a 2006 monologue: In a remarkable speech over the weekend, Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt recommended that Americans store canned tuna and powdered milk…

Bishop-Wisecarver, a trusted industrial automation company offering proven motion solutions that are expertly designed and delivered to perform, is hosting its ninth consecutive National Manufacturing Day (MFG Day) event, as a first time virtual offering. The company also kicked off the first Wisecarver Innovation Award student design contest encouraging participants to realize the benefits of […]

Dassault Systèmes announced that GEA, one of the world’s largest technology suppliers for food processing and a wide range of other industries, used SIMULIA applications powered by the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to simulate the airflow in its Oelde, Germany employee cafeteria, which has been closed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and gain insights […]

Lifesaving medical equipment, from ventilators and defibrillators to auto-chemistry analyzers, is essential in overcoming COVID-19. To meet urgent requests from global customers that manufacture these products, SABIC has taken extraordinary steps to expedite order fulfillment for its specialty thermoplastic resins. As an example, the company rapidly supplied significant quantities of thermoplastics to two Chinese medical…

A nano-silver anti-bacterial laminate film can be used to enhance the safety of touchscreen-based healthcare equipment, point-of-sale and self-service public display systems. Suitable for existing products or new system designs, applying the film is fast and simple, such that customers can self-laminate touchscreen-based display systems no matter what the type or size of product. The…

Trinamic Motion Control GmbH & Co. KG, now part of Maxim Integrated, today announced the TMC4671+TMC6100-TOSV-REF design board, a BLDC servo driver capable of 12V to 36V with up to 6A RMS to accommodate medical ventilator and respiratory system design. To shorten design cycles, the open-source module features a session border controller (SBC) connector in…

Specialty metal strip and wire manufacturer, AMETEK Specialty Metal Products (SMP), is not letting the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic affect its operations. The business is reporting increased levels of global demand for its high purity nickel strip products across a number of sectors. AMETEK SMP’s precision nickel strip is engineered for critical battery connector…