How to take advantage of the downturn for the better-current medical development

2021-12-16 07:28:23 By : Ms. Candy Fan

Manufacturing companies moving towards smart factories will find that this may be an excellent opportunity for digital transformation during an economic downturn.

I received this article a few weeks before COVID-19 became a global pandemic. Browsing my e-mail, it caught my attention, and I know that now is a good time to provide these insights to understand how to do digital transformation in a slower period is wise.

We are still in business and report here on the development of medical devices and equipment manufacturing. So, how did you live during the pandemic? Leave me a message and let me know what new projects you are working on, how the global home order affects/does not affect your business, or your overall view of today's manufacturing industry. Stay healthy and stay away from socializing!

Countercyclical behavior is a topic that has been discussed in high school economics courses. Students are taught that saving in good times helps prepare for bad times. On the other hand, spending money in times of economic downturn can help boost the economy. A similar approach can be applied to manufacturing companies.

Jürgen Petzel, vice president of sales at MPDV, said: “If you invest in production infrastructure during a quiet period, you can start working before the next economic recovery.” “Manufacturing execution systems like HYDRA (MES) help Detect waste in production and reveal unexpected efficiency potential." 

Use free resources wisely When the order volume is low, existing resources—whether they are machines or human resources—cannot always be fully utilized. Therefore, the wise solution is to use any free time for other purposes. You can introduce MES or expand the system you are using.

"Use this opportunity to connect idle machines to the MES faster. At the same time test new features while producing. This time is also ideal for training your production staff and making up for longer non-production time," Petzel explained. "At the same time, you may be able to find a job."

When preparing to implement or expand MES, you can optimize and simplify organizational processes as needed. Experienced MPDV consultants will analyze the current process and make optimization suggestions before digitizing unnecessary complex structures. If the usual time pressure is eliminated, you can concentrate on handling the MES implementation.

Petzel reports: "Especially when the production is not running at full capacity, we can use time to standardize the MES project as much as possible-just like in the green field project. The advantage is obvious: if we can integrate most of your needs To the standard, the cost is much lower, including the initial investment and the cost over time."

Another advantage is that the operation and maintenance requirements of an IT system that is close to the standard are not high, because there is no need to comply with customized functions.

Before you invest, understand if the situation becomes tense due to the economic situation, you can use the downturn to understand the possibilities of MES. It takes time-time is all you have. To this end, MPDV provides a wide range of information events. The MES and Industry 4.0 seminars provide interested experts and managers with an overview of the scope and possible benefits of MES and the first steps required to realize a smart factory. As part of the seminar, a HYDRA user reported on their experience with the system.

In the course of the best practice MES seminar, a manufacturing company outlined how they used HYDRA in field operations and explained the functions and advantages of MES on site. If business travel is not on the agenda, then the webinar series is perfect for getting you to know MES. In four webinars in a year, MPDV introduced the application fields, functions and advantages of HYDRA, and introduced the world of Industry 4.0 to interested participants.

Petzel added: "For most of our users, everything starts with a visit to one of our information events. The large number of participants proves that the demand for information is still high. By participating in these events, you are ahead of the game. Position in the digital and industry 4.0 era of competitiveness. So don’t hesitate to take up the challenge now."

Teacher and student groups across the country are designing ventilator parts, masks, protective equipment, and more use of 3D printing and other technologies.

During the global pandemic, a lot of news flooded in my inbox emphasized how people can help.

Aerospace engineering students, high school robotics students, mechanical engineer teachers, etc. are demonstrating collaboration between disciplines and communities to develop personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical equipment.

Georgia Institute of Technology has also launched a quick response website to deal with any supply chain challenges. 

Assistant Professor Ningfu University of the Department of System Science and Industrial Engineering and his team successfully printed a prototype of the flexible mask. This print consists of soft TPU (green) and rigid PLA filter holders (white and orange) on each side. The team customized two round HEPA filters and inserted them into each bracket. Later, the metal strip was integrated with the mask to conformally seal the nose part (just like the N95 mask and surgical mask do).

Engineers at the State University of New York at Binghamton University are stepping up their efforts to help regional healthcare providers respond to the coronavirus pandemic, including designing ventilator parts and face masks.

The faculty of the Department of Biomedical Engineering have completed a prototype of a similar N95 mask using 3M with an electrostatic filter that can capture viruses, and they have also designed a design to disinfect the N95 mask using ultraviolet light.

Assistant professors of the Department of System Science and Industrial Engineering Ning Fu University and Deng Jiazheng collaborated with local hospitals to design and 3D print ventilator adapters. Each machine can accommodate more than one patient if necessary. They are collaborating on this project with Scott Schiffres, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Click here to read more about 3DP's work to help produce PPE.

A research team from universities on two continents is racing to develop do-it-yourself healthcare equipment that can be assembled where needed using locally available components. Using 3D printed parts, plastic-lined tablecloths for birthday parties, laser-cut gears, and similar alternatives, team members think they have about two weeks to complete the design and share it with anyone who can help meet the needs.

Shannon Yee, associate professor of Georgia Institute of Technology's George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, said: "We are trying to figure out how to scale up these devices within the time we have." He is studying ventilator issues at Georgia Tech and other universities. More than a dozen colleagues. "We are thinking about producing products very quickly, and this is where contact with mature manufacturing sources will help."

Emory and the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering have bridged the gap between healthcare needs and Georgia Institute of Technology’s extensive technical knowledge. Georgia Institute of Technology researchers regularly talk to the hospital system to discuss their need. So far, hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes, face masks, breathing masks and ventilators have been identified as key requirements. Using the resources of the Flower Invention Studio (such as 3D printing), the group has produced 1,000 face masks and is preparing to manufacture thousands of face masks in the form of kits that can be assembled by hospitals.

The team is launching a website to quantify the demand for face masks and solicit material supplies. Since the global supply chain cannot transport traditional PPE components, they are looking for alternatives that may not be part of the production now.

Although the mask is the most mature project the team is developing, the researchers are also paying attention to other needs in the medical community. These include ventilators, disinfectant wipes and respirators.

Click here to read more about PPE production.

When representatives of the Phelps Health Center expected to need help due to the shortage of protective masks due to the coronavirus outbreak, the students, faculty and staff of Missouri University of Science and Technology responded by using the power of technology and ingenuity.

On Saturday and Sunday, March 21-22, 2020, the campus was extremely quiet, not only because it was the weekend before spring break, but also because most students and most of the faculty and staff moved out of the semester to prepare for remote work due to the coronavirus outbreak. But 3D printers in several buildings on the campus are buzzing, making prototype masks and mask holders.

At the Kummer Student Design Center, S&T students usually work on rockets, solar cars, Mars probes and other projects there. On Saturday, some students, faculty and staff are equipped with more than a dozen 3D printers in a room, which are used by Phelps Health. Doctors, nurses make prototypes and other medical staff.

Across the campus, students from Missouri technology company Makerspace are using their 3D printers to make prototype mask holders. On Sunday, the university recruited more printers for this cause.

Burton asked Mohammad Dehghani, president of Missouri University of Science and Technology, whether it is possible to use the university's 3D printing capabilities to assist in this work. Dehghani instructed others throughout the campus to do all they could to help.

Click on her to learn more about the printer farm they are developing, which produces 24 hours a day.

Companies that originally planned to restart production before the end of March will now have to wait until early or mid-April.

Update at 9 am on March 31, 2020: Ford postpones the reopening of the factory indefinitely. The only facility with an open date is the Rawsonville Components factory in Ypsilanti, Michigan, which will reopen on April 20 to build ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients.

Cleveland, Ohio — The response of automakers to the growing COVID-19 pandemic reflects the country’s response — as the understanding of the threat increases, the severity of countermeasures increases. At the end of February and early March, response measures were limited to canceling individual shifts for additional cleaning, encouraging office workers to work from home, and restricting travel. A few days or a week after the closure of factories and offices.

Several major automakers announced plans on Thursday to extend the shutdown period, which was originally scheduled to end at the end of the month, to early or mid-April. The list of closed extensions includes:

About the author: Robert Schoenberger is the editor of Today's Motor Vehicles and Today's eMobility, and a contributor to Today's Medical Developments and Aerospace Manufacturing and Design. He has written about the automotive industry for more than 20 years at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. The Courier Magazine in Louisville, Kentucky; and The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi.

Including the manufacture of ventilators, respirator parts, and filtration systems in Brazil.

Embraer is collaborating with companies and research centers to study technologies that can increase the availability of equipment and solutions to combat COVID-19 in Brazil.

Actions jointly developed with Embraer’s supply chain include manufacturing parts for the ventilators and respirator industries, replacing imported parts for ventilators, developing high-efficiency filtration systems that transform ordinary beds into intensive care beds, and researching and developing simple, robust, and Portable respirator, designed to be implemented and acquired quickly.

A group of professionals is already taking the lead in supporting a respirator factory in Brazil, and plans to start producing parts next week in response to urgent demand for the equipment. Embraer, in cooperation with partner organizations, has completed the analysis of the technology and production capacity required to meet the identified needs.

Embraer also cooperated with Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to provide technical support for the development of a biological air filtration system for air quality control, which can transform ordinary beds into intensive care beds. The use of high-efficiency filters to absorb air particles that have been used in aircraft air-conditioning systems, the goal is to provide such solutions for hospitals that have urgent needs.

Another frontier of work is dedicated to analyzing the manufacture of control valves and flow sensors in another respirator industry in the country, as well as adjusting existing respirator models for use in combating COVID-19.

The analysis of innovative solutions and the potential of other actions presented by the market helps to identify new opportunities for action. The global healthcare system is facing an unprecedented situation, and Embraer plans to use its capabilities at this moment of global collaboration and the need for effective short-term solutions.

Embraer will continue to monitor the situation and use its expertise in integrating complex systems to benefit society and find ways to contribute in this global cooperation against COVID-19.

Embraer manufactures commercial jets with up to 150 seats and is Brazil's main exporter of high value-added goods. The company has industrial departments, offices, service and parts distribution centers, and other activities in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe.

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This acquisition strengthens Precision Cutting Technologies' cutting consumables product portfolio and strengthens its position in the northeastern United States.

Precision Cut Technologies Inc. has acquired Supermill LLC. Precision Cut Technologies holds Alleghany Capital's investment in precision automated machine tools and high-performance cutting tools. Headquartered in Berlin, Connecticut, Supermill is a leading manufacturer of high-performance carbide end mills.

Terry Derrico, President of Precision Cutting Technologies commented: “We are delighted to work with Supermill founder and president Tom Hale and his talented and experienced team of employees. The acquisition of Supermill strengthens Precision Cutting Technologies’ cutting consumables product portfolio and strengthens its presence. The status of the Northeastern United States. Just like our past acquisitions and the way we reflect our strategic partnership, Tom will continue to lead the company after the transaction, and Supermill’s daily operations will not be affected. However, we believe that Supermill will now be able to Utilize the infrastructure of the precision cutting technology platform and the national sales scope."

Hale added: “I founded Supermill in 1990 with the goal of manufacturing the highest quality end mills for the metalworking industry and providing our customers with unparalleled performance and tool life. After thirty years of growth, I am very I am happy to find a long-term home for the company and our loyal employees. I look forward to building with the Precision Cutting Technologies team in the next few years, loyal to Supermill’s reputation for reliability, innovation and customer service."

Rob Hulick, Head of Alleghany Capital, said: "We are very pleased to welcome Supermill to the Alleghany Capital family of companies and are excited about the opportunity that Supermill can take advantage of the wider coverage and capabilities of the precision cutting technology platform and the differences in Alleghany Capital. We continue to believe in driving long-term trends in the industrial technology, factory automation and advanced materials industries, and look forward to supporting Precision Cutting Technologies and Supermill as they provide customers with truly differentiated services."