1300: AR provides vital role in ventilator effort
One of the world’s leading providers of industrial innovation technology is supporting the UK’s call for more ventilators through the power of Augmented Reality (AR).
PTC has been announced as one of the partners in the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium led by High Value Manufacturing Catapult CEO Dick Elsy and a host of the UK’s leading engineering businesses, including Ford Motor Company, GKN Aerospace, McLaren, Airbus, Meggitt and Siemens UK.
Experts have been working with existing ventilator manufacturers Smiths Group and Penlon to document crucial assembly processes involved in the development and build of Rapidly Manufactured Ventilator Systems (RMVS).
The consortium has used PTC’s Vuforia® Expert Capture AR technology and Microsoft’s HoloLens to capture the crucial assembly steps and processes involved in building Rapidly Manufactured Ventilator Systems (RMVS).
This will be uploaded and edited in PTC’s Vuforia Editor technology, which runs on Microsoft Azure, to create a virtual assembly guide and relayed, through wearable equipment or smart devices such as phone or tablet, to the factories of consortium partners that traditionally do not make ventilators.
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1015: Steam specialist starts production of ventilator components
Industrial steam specialist, Spirax Sarco Limited, headquartered in Gloucestershire, has begun machining a critical component part for use in the UCL-Ventura breathing aid, a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device that is being used to provide potentially life-saving oxygen to patients affected by COVID-19.
Spirax Sarco responded to an urgent enquiry from Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains, who are working in conjunction with University College London, asking if the company could produce the component at its manufacturing plant in Cheltenham. The part is a special design quick-fit connector that helps to safely manage the flow of oxygen, ensuring that as many patients as possible can receive the vital supply they need.
In less than a week Spirax Sarco completed a technical evaluation, wrote the programs required to manufacture the part, produced the first samples, had the samples reviewed and approved, and commenced around-the-clock production, which will continue until the order is fulfilled.
Spirax Sarco began by producing 300 parts every 24 hours but quickly increased this to 450 parts. Collections from the factory are happening every few hours to ensure there is no delay to the assembly and shipment of the completed devices.
