A team from Smith College, based in Massachusetts, has won the Covent-19 Challenge design contest. The aim of this competition was to create a ventilator that could help with the shortages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This ventilator was to be viable and built in a way which would allow it to be deployed quickly. The competition was set up to find a way to easily manufacture cost-effective ventilators and help the developing world during the current pandemic.

The team had no knowledge of ventilator construction, but this did not stop them. Only 3 months after they entered the competition, their design and functional prototype was approved and could be deployed. The team reportedly assembled this ventilator for less than a tenth of the cost of traditional ones, using a combination of 3D printed and off-the-shelf parts.

Another great thing about this project is that the team’s ventilator enclosure, ISO fittings, and mounting blocks can all be produced using Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) or stereolithography 3D printers and the design is open-source, which means other researchers can work on it and improve it.

You can learn more about the innovative ventilator here. 

The 3D printing community has responded quickly to Covid-19, by producing a large number of face masks and shields. A lot of companies have shifted their usual production to help combat the virus by 3D printing millions of PPE items every month.

Manchester Metrology has been helping fight Covid-19 as well by using its 3D, the Snapmaker2, to print free of charge visors for local companies in need. With this 3-in-1 3D printer you can 3D print, Laser Engrave and Cut and CNC Carve all in one! 

We are a leading supplier of metrology equipment, including 3D scanners, 3D trackers and 3D printers. We have 4 top of the range 3D printers available to hire or use as a service – these include Project 460 Plus, Figure 4, Fabpro 1000 and Markforged 2. Learn more about this with Manchester Metrology here.