The UK Government has put a call out to UK manufacturers to aid with the production of NHS ventilators in the fight against Covid-19.
Yesterday the Prime Minister spoke to over sixty of the UK’s leading manufacturing businesses and organisations who were sent blueprints to help accelerate the production of vital medical equipment.
The call comes in response to the impending shortage of life saving devices, such as ventilators, needed to treat coronavirus patients. The health department says the NHS currently has around 5,900 ventilators but the Prime Minister urged for the manufacture of "as many new ventilators as possible."
According to a report by the BBC, Downing Street described preparing for the spread of the virus as a "national priority" and appealed for the manufacturing industry and those with relevant expertise across design, procurement, assembly, testing, and shipping, to help tackle the growing crisis.
The BBC quotes Downing Street as saying: "We need to step up production of vital equipment such as ventilators so that we can all help the most vulnerable, and we need businesses to come to us and help in this national effort."
The UK Government's Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is said to be is collecting information on capability and capacity from companies wishing to support the initiative.
Live blog: Keep up to date with the latest 3D printing efforts against Covid-19
A number of 3D printing companies are believed to have already pledged their support including 3T Additive Manufacturing, a Berkshire-based service provider. As an ISO13485 approved company 3T says it has the capacity to produce metal and polymer parts in a variety of materials for the medical industry.
"The benefit 3T can offer at the moment is a 24-hour turnaround on polymer parts, and using laser sintering technology means that we can manufacture hundreds of parts at the same time with little to no finishing requirement," Victoria May at 3T, told TCT. "No support removal means as soon as the machines are cool, the parts are ‘broken out’ of the machine, blasted, and then ready to go. All we require is a 3D file.
"Currently the government are assessing the requirements of where they need the help, with little knowledge about ventilation equipment, we believe that we could at least help with the manufacture of casings, clips and fixturing components and potentially more."
British engineering and metal additive manufacturing firm Renishaw is one of the companies the Cabinet Office has approached to assist in this national effort.
Renishaw's Chris Pockett told TCT: "We have judged that our most useful role in this challenge is to offer our services to rapidly produce components for the devices using our in-house additive manufacturing, machining and electronics capabilities. We have formally communicated this to the UK Government's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and we are already in contact with some of the teams that are working on ventilator designs.
"We stand ready to respond rapidly to any requests for assistance from BEIS and other businesses who are contributing their services."
While it seems there are no shortage of businesses offering to help in any way they can, it's unclear as yet how those companies can actively get involved at this stage, with many calling for access to the necessary 3D design files to commence manufacturing. Outside of the Government's official call out, there are also concerns around patient safety with regards to the feasibility of open sourcing the design and manufacture of medical equipment, which requires strict manufacturing specifications, validation, and is usually carried out by approved suppliers.
Kevin Quigley, owner of Shrewsbury-based product design company Quigley Design, has first-hand experience having designed medical products for start-ups and global multinationals, and is wary of the Government mobilising UK manufacturers to develop new ventilators and devices.
"This whole situation is about speed," Quigley told TCT. "The ICU situation is ramping up by the hour. If you want speed you look at production rates - you don't try to reinvent the wheel. Developing a complex medical device like this is not easy and if I have learned one thing in 30 years it is that just because you know a lot about one sector doesn't mean it transfers directly to another. Perhaps, technically, some of the same principles apply but as a designer you need to look at the entire use case - design, manufacture, reliability, safety, use by trained and untrained staff, etc. I just point the naysayers to the instruction manuals that come with these devices!"
He added that he believes the Government should be turning its attention to existing OEMs who already have the necessary data for parts and assembly, and helping them with funding to increase supply.
Quigley, added: "Every manufacturer knows exactly what their choke points are. They know how to ramp up production. It is primarily an economics thing. To go from 5000 units p/a to 25,000 units in 4 months needs new supply chains, likely needs a new assembly facility and needs money. Guarantee the funding and the rest can be sorted."
In terms of 3D printing, he added that a "additive or subtractive" twin would be the best approach, whereby validated part data and specifications are ready to be deployed for on-demand manufacture at the point of need.
Speaking about the practicalities and challenges of this national effort, Stephen Phipson CBE, CEO of Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation, shared with TCT: “We fully support the Prime Minister’s request and will do whatever it takes in the national interest to support this. Practically it can be done as the UK has a very well established contract manufacturing sector which is well used to taking patents and designs and producing a range of systems. The main challenge is likely to be the sourcing of components, much of which are electronic, may not be made in the UK, and more likely to come from Asia which brings its own problems. However, the principle is in place that this can be done.”
For those wishing to contribute, BEIS has set up a form to allow manufacturers to register their interest which can also be submitted via the Business Support Helpline on 0300 456 3565. The helpline is said to have already received over 400 calls from businesses looking for information on how they can get involved.
Read more in our upcoming Healthcare in AM feature in the next issue of TCT Magazine. Subscribe for FREE.
