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Ventilator Parts Manufacturing In Sheffield

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Is anyone making parts for ventilators in Sheffield?

 

NHS chief Sir Simon Stevens has admitted there are only 8,175 ventilators available out of the 30,000 that medical planners fear will be needed.

If the imminent surge in cases happens too soon, there will not be enough to keep patients alive – meaning agonising decisions about which patients are not given them.

Coventry based Meggitt – which produces oxygen mask systems for aircraft – is spearheading the aerospace consortium.

The UK team at Nissan is heading the automotive group, and McLaren is running the motor sports consortium.

The three groups have each been given until next week to produce a prototype but many of the key components they use are made in China or elsewhere in the Far East.

Boris Johnson wants to harness the skills of British industry and has asked 60 engineering companies if they can adapt their production lines to make the vital parts in the UK instead of relying on imports.

Britain's world-leading motor-racing industry could be a major asset in the scramble to build thousands of new ventilators. There is also a huge supply chain of highly skilled engineering companies.

In a conference call on Monday night, he urged them to find ways to make 30,000 new ventilators in just two weeks. The UK's only specialist maker of ventilators for intensive care units, Breas, in Stratford-uponAvon, has increased capacity and moved to seven-day working.

The manufacturers association, Make UK, says it would be possible for some specialist engineers to switch to making medical items including Ford, Honda, Unipart, JCB and Rolls-Royce.

Peter Worrallo, managing director of Penlon, one of the UK firms making ventilators ‘We are a British company and we want to help.'

 

I am sure that Sheffield engineering companies can build some components or parts that are mass produced in China.

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I've just read a major UK manufacturer hasn't actually had an order from the UK government yet and they take a while to build.

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The manufacturers association, Make UK, says that it would be possible for some specialist engineers to scale up production under licence.

 

Craig Thompson,  Penlon, said the idea was unrealistic.

His firm makes 750 machines a year and could double production, given time. In the short term he could provide the NHS with up to 200 more machines.

"The manufacture of medical devices, such as ventilators, is highly regulated,"

 

Skip Twitter post by @MattHancock
 

Calling all manufacturers who can support our National Effort for #coronavirus ventilator production - to help, contact Government Business Support team: 0300 456 3565 / ventilator.support@beis.gov.uk

 
 
 
 
 
 

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The companies would have to tool up and source material suppliers before producing, that in itself would be quite a challenge, even for those capable I reckon.

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There are a number of manufacturers in Sheffield who are engaged with the program, including 3d printers, software companies and research organisations.

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Being engaged with the program and churning out production are two completely different things !

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45 minutes ago, Michael_W said:

Being engaged with the program and churning out production are two completely different things !

Agreed...But don't be like that...Especially at a time like this.

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1 hour ago, Michael_W said:

Being engaged with the program and churning out production are two completely different things !

Think positive,  we can do it.

Remember, Britain needs you.

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Thanks reteP, That was a good find.

Quote

Gtech, which is based in Worcester, specialises in making cordless vacuum cleaners and garden power tools.

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.

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This story about making Ventilators in the UK by companies that are not medical device manufacturers is total political misinformation. This is not the 1940s. Such a device would never be passed as safe and no Doctor would prescribe its use on a patient. Manufacturing of vents is a complex and time consuming path which would require years of testing and legal approvals.

The only way we are going to get more vents is to buy them from existing suppliers who are mostly in China, USA and Germany. Or refurbish old ones that have been sold off to Vets or stored.

I suspect this story has been pedalled by government advisors as a "were all mucking in" type of story to fool the public. Especially as they ignored the advice they were receiving from China months ago.

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7 hours ago, muddycoffee said:

This story about making Ventilators in the UK by companies that are not medical device manufacturers is total political misinformation. This is not the 1940s. Such a device would never be passed as safe and no Doctor would prescribe its use on a patient. Manufacturing of vents is a complex and time consuming path which would require years of testing and legal approvals.

The only way we are going to get more vents is to buy them from existing suppliers who are mostly in China, USA and Germany. Or refurbish old ones that have been sold off to Vets or stored.

I suspect this story has been pedalled by government advisors as a "were all mucking in" type of story to fool the public. Especially as they ignored the advice they were receiving from China months ago.

Errr, or to ramp up the production by the 2 companies in the UK who already make vents...

e.g. Smiths Medical - https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-britain-ventilator/uks-smiths-makes-ventilator-available-to-other-producers-idUKKBN2180IG

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