Researchers at the University of Michigan, collaborating with Autocam Medical, have tackled the COVID-19 crisis of potential ventilator shortages globally and developed VentMI in remarkable time—from prototype to available for use in under a month. This new ventilator splitter overcomes a previously critical limitation for shared use of these devices. Previous splitters could deliver only […]
What service providers are doing to help battle the pandemic
Listen as Greg Thompson of Protolabs discusses how service bureaus are helping in the battle against the Coronavirus with their ability to offer a range of prototyping and manufacturing capabilities. Welcome to Technology Forward. In addition to additive vendors’ efforts to help healthcare workers, service providers are also doing their part. Today, I’m here with […]
Why can’t we have innovation all the time?
Recently, while listening to the excellent Freakonomics Podcast, one of the guests provided some great insight into our current situation. Marshall Burke, an Associate Professor at Stanford University explained that many times it takes an outside event to force society to move in directions that it had been technologically ready for, but not psychologically ready…
Emerson components keep water running to COVID-19 field hospital
As the number of New Yorkers infected by COVID-19 skyrockets, health-department officials are bracing for the inundation of local hospitals in coming weeks by thousands of people requiring medical attention. In response to the crisis, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a $350 million Mission Assignment to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for construction…
3D printed ACTIVAT3D copper deployed to fight the spread of COVID-19
The Northern Territory Department of Trade, Business and Innovation has become the first organisation to deploy antimicrobial ACTIVAT3D copper throughout their building to help fight the spread of COVID-19. Tests confirmed ACTIVAT3D copper ‘contact kills’ 96% of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in just two hours. Darwin company SPEE3D recently announced the successful development […]
Stratasys CoVent-19 Challenge attracts more than 200 ventilator design submissions
More than 200 teams from around the world have submitted designs for a rapidly deployable, minimum viable ventilator as part of a hackathon hosted on GrabCAD.com, with round one ending May 1. The CoVent-19 Challenge has now shifted to a finalist round. Seven teams have been selected to participate and will be building working prototypes […]
How can we sense the coronavirus?
Researchers at Northwestern University and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago asked themselves that question. Their answer is a wearable wireless sensor similar to a Band-Aid strip. The device mounts to the throat and detects breathing and coughing and a set of algorithms provide the analysis. Similar to sensors designed to monitor speech and swallowing in […]
How additive manufacturing is proving its worth during the COVID-19 pandemic
Disruptive is a familiar word to those in additive manufacturing. This technology has been labeled disruptive by many. As it turns out, when other types of disruption arise, you need a disruptive technology to handle it, a technology that can offer a bridge among multiple manufacturing methods to get you through the disruption. Additive manufacturing’s […]
Vesconite prototypes face shields
Polymer bushing and wear material producer Vesconite Bearings has prototyped a face shield in response to the global call to produce personal protective equipment for emergency medical personnel and nurses. Some 30 prototype shields, including five with holes, have been sent to a health facility for testing and to verify that the design, which includes […]
Hack the crisis: Open-source site helps engineers get organized to fight COVID-19
“While there are many initiatives around the globe to encourage scientific collaboration, there is unfortunately little coordination among these teams.” So says Frédéric Vacher, Head of Innovation for the 3DExperience Lab at Dassault Systèmes. Dassault created an online Open COVID-19 Community which is designed to be a place where engineers, designers and manufacturers worldwide can…
Hack the Crisis: UL’s Deborah Jennings-Conner on transforming manufacturing operations
As part of our series, “Hack the Crisis,” Design World’s VP, Editorial Director Paul J. Heney recently interviewed UL’s Director of Global Life & Health Sciences Regulatory & Testing Assurance, Deborah Jennings-Conner. Jennings-Conner had some great advice for keeping teams happy and motivated, as well as offered substantive advice for manufacturers looking at transitioning to producing…
ERNI Electronics realigns operations to contribute to COVID-19 fight
ERNI Electronics has realigned operations to support production of cable assemblies needed for essential medical equipment in the fight against COVID-19. The group has customers adjusting orders, pulling in typical annual volumes in mere weeks and ERNI has adjusted priorities and staffing to support them. A strong supply chain and a realignment of both physical […]
NASA creates a ventilator prototype in 37 days
By Sean Whooley NASA engineers have developed a high-pressure ventilator prototype tailored for COVID-19 patients that passed a critical test at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Engineers developed the “ventilator intervention technology accessible locally” device, called “VITAL,” at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in an effort to…
ExOne uses its 3D printing binder technology to make reusable porous metal respirator filters
Reusable porous metal filters 3D printed with ExOne technology were manufactured to fit inside a plastic respirator cartridge designed by the University of Pittsburgh. The combined units, now undergoing initial testing, could deliver sterilizable personal protection equipment for long-term use. ExOne, a global leader in industrial 3D printers using binder jetting technology, and the University […]
3D printing’s ability to make parts fast proves critical to battling Coronavirus
In March, what was a trickle of patients soon turned into a tsunami of people infected by coronavirus, with numbers rising daily. Healthcare workers quickly ran out of face masks, shields, ventilators and other equipment needed to fight what was turning into a global pandemic. The additive manufacturing community stepped up to the challenge fast. […]
Air-purification systems (and their terminal blocks) help in battle against COVID-19
Written by Barry Nelson of WAGO || As doctors and medical experts continue to try and find a vaccine for COVID-19, one company is looking to help control the spread — especially in medical facilities. For the past 10 years, GreenTech Environmental has been at the forefront of producing high-quality residential air-purification systems. Now with…
Stratasys and Origin address the COVID-19 testing shortage by 3D printing nasal swabs
In response to the pressing need for more COVID-19 testing, Stratasys, Inc. and Origin have signed an agreement in which Stratasys will market and promote Origin 3D-printed nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs to healthcare providers and other testing centers in the U.S. As widely reported, widespread testing of millions of people is currently hampered by a shortage […]
Bunting provides essential support to plastics industry during COVID-19 outbreak
COVID-19 has caused a great deal of disruption to everyday life. Many businesses have been forced to close or enact extreme limitations of their operating hours in order to protect public safety. Only essential businesses have been allowed to stay open, and this has caused many people to ask: “What makes a business ‘essential’?” Bunting…
OMRON supports COVID-19 relief efforts with donations to charitable organizations
OMRON, a global technology company, recently announced a series of cash and product donations to local charities through OMRON Foundation, its charitable arm in the United States, and through OMRON Healthcare. This funding is meant to help communities weather a range of challenges caused by the worldwide coronavirus outbreak. “OMRON’s mission is to improve lives…
America Makes announces two challenges for 3D printing users to help frontline workers
Want to use your 3D printing talents to help frontline workers across the country? You can. America Makes announced two challenges – the Fit to Face – Mask Design Challenge in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs; and the COVID-19 Maker Challenge, a joint event by Challenge America and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Innovation Ecosystem. “Both of these opportunities seek to […]
A positive outlook for the future economy
I’d like to offer some positive news in the midst of the dire outlook that’s been the regular diet of late on news stations. Last week, we asked renowned economist Alan Beaulieu of ITR Economics to provide our readers and advertisers with a 90-minute webinar looking at what the COVID-19 crisis realistically means for the…
Trim-Lok donates $10,000 for purchase of new ventilator
Trim-Lok, Inc. CEO, Gary Whitener, underwent groundbreaking surgery several years ago at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian of Newport Beach, California, being one of the first patients to have heart valve replacement with a cow’s valve performed by cardiologist Dr. Subbarao Myla. After a recent conversation and special request from Dr. Myla, Whitener donated $10,000 to…
Festo assigns teams to COVID-19 respiratory ventilator development and protective gear manufacture
Festo North America and subsidiary Fabco-Air Inc., classified essential businesses, are continuing to supply pneumatic and electric drive technology to distributors, equipment manufacturers, and end users in North America. Supporting solutions for COVID-19 “Festo has launched focused coronavirus mitigation projects,” said Craig Correia, Director of Life Science & Process Industries, Festo North America. “Among several […]
A look at Siemens efforts in the battle against COVID-19
In this podcast, we explore the efforts Siemens is contributing in fighting the pandemic. One of the things Siemens offers is its Additive Manufacturing Network. Welcome to Technology Forward. Today, we are speaking with Robert Meshel, Director, Additive Manufacturing Network at Siemens. We’ll discuss what this network is, and how it is helping to […]
OnScale offers free online training courses for engineers working remotely
OnScale, a global leader in Cloud Engineering Simulation, released its free online training schedule for both current and new customers. The Cloud Engineering Simulation Specialization with OnScale comprises five free online training courses: Introduction to OnScale, MEMS Piezoelectric Simulation, Thermomechanical Simulation, Ultrasound Transducer Simulation, and Non-Destructive Testing Simulation. All training classes will be executed remotely […]