MAY/JUNE 2020 COVER STORY
PRINT MEDIA
With the pandemic causing disruption to supply
chains and requiring rapid action from manufacturers,
many have turned to the power of 3D printing
19
BY CHRIS BECK
www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
Additive manufacturing (AM), or
3D printing, has enjoyed something
of a coming-of-age during the
coronavirus pandemic. As
manufacturers rushed to rapidly
produce parts for ventilators or
protective equipment, many turned to additive
manufacturing technology.
The Ventilator Challenge UK, a
collaboration of leading manufacturers from
all corners of the nation’s manufacturing
industry, came together in record time to
meet the need for ventilator parts (watch
Manufacturing Management’s video panel with
some of the consortium’s leading names at
https://bit.ly/3eYwxl1). Amongst the stories to
come out of the group was the news that the
Mercedes AMG Formula 1 team, in conjunction
with University College London, had produced
a so-called Continuous Positive Airway
Pressure (CPAP) device, designed to help
patients suffering from COVID-19 to breathe
more freely. The rapid production of this was
only possible thanks to Mercedes’ work with
3D printing specialists, Protolabs, in creating
injection mould tools for a bracket – going
from initial design to physical product in just
three days.
“Within a few hours of the call, we
had mobilised a dedicated design and
manufacturing team to review the bracket
design for manufacturability,” said Baninder
Kaur, strategic account
manager at Protolabs, at the
time. “This led to four quick
iterations and the decision
to make the bracket using
two tools, allowing us to
reduce lead times by running
production simultaneously.”
While the work of the
Ventilator Challenge stole
many of the headlines, additive
manufacturing was helping
other innovations to come to
fruition. One such example
is from the Institute for
Automotive & Manufacturing
Advanced Practice (AMAP) at
the University of Sunderland.
Here, the team, led by Roger
O’Brien, has developed
a 3D-printed device that
attaches to door handles,
enabling them to be opened
without touching the handle.
Additive manufacturing
enabled the AMAP team to
quickly develop a prototype,
and then begin mass producing
openers for care homes, the
NHS and other customers.
“We produced a couple of
versions,” explains O’Brien.
“One was 3D printed and
one was a laser-cut version,
which is quicker to produce,
but doesn’t have quite the
flexibility to do some of the
things that the 3D printed one
can. For example, with the
3D printed one we’ve got an
option of printing it in a new
material called PLA Active,
“3D printing has
opened up new ways
of working for us”
Roger O’Brien, director, AMAP
/www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
/3eYwxl1)