This crisis demonstrates the great human solidarity, more and more initiatives are emerging to offer all kinds of aid with the aim of reducing the impact of the pandemic. The manufacture of face masks or ventilators, it is one of those initiatives, that are much needed and is a scarce material in health centres. It’s about anonymous people who bring out the best in themselves to put it at the service of others.
One of those initiatives has been the creation of the Coronavirus Makers platform, at the service of anyone who wants to contribute their grain of sand and join this solidarity network that shows the best of people and that evidences that #seguimosconectados (#WeAreStillConnected).
It has also been the company CAF Digital Manufacturing who has joined this sea of solidarity by donating 300 face shields to hospitals and claim that they will continue to produce 100 a day. They also work on face mask manufacturing or printing projects for ventilators.
On the other hand, at the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the U.S. has developed a help guide based on recommendations for the manufacture of homemade masks as well as their use.
The automotive components multinational’s facilities Valeo Iluminación, in Martos (Jaén, Andalusia), also joins the initiative to start manufacturing face shields for health workers. It is a project in which the Plastic Technology Centre (Centro Tecnológico del Plástico) participates alongside with other companies of the Martos supplier park such as Kit online, Acodis, Teknia, Proinsur, Plásticos Alcaudete, among others.
UGT Fica Valeo has announced that it will be launched with the tuning of the mold with which the plastic injection machines, commonly used for the manufacture of projector components, will work. From there, they would start with the process of mass production, with an estimated production of 3,000 units per day. UGT Fica Valeo has stated that in parallel, the company is in study phase of another project to manufacture ventilators, in addition to those that are currently manufacturing with 3D technology. They also wanted to highlight “the commitment” of the company while providing its facilities and technology to “contribute in these critical moments where to solve the shortage of health materials, is the best contribution.”
Thailand has suffered less than other Asian countries the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been 2,473 cases of the disease in the country and 33 people have died from it. 1,013 patients have fully recovered. Although the incidence of the virus is much lower in children than in older adults, there haven been some initiatives in Thailand for the little ones, such as the manufacture of mini face shields to protect newborns and hence, avoid maximum contagion by COVID-19.
In Israel, the doctor, physician and inventor of health devices, Noam Gavriely, worked rapidly to develop what he calls the ViriMASK protective oculo-respirator. The ViriMASK is strapped around the head, covering the eyes with a see-through visor and the nose and mouth with a filtering mechanism. The device can be washed and reused. The filters must be replaced after 12 hours of use and disposed into a special envelope containing disinfectant.
In Japan, Gunma University Development & Innovation (GUDi), based at Gunma University in Kiryu City, and Meisei Industry Co., a manufacturer of tinsel wire from the city of Maebashi, worked together to create a sheet of copper fiber that can speed up the process of inactivating the virus and bacteria. Hence, preventing infections. The sheep has sterilization effect that causes virus particles to become inactive, meaning they become harmless to humans. It has a photocatalyst applied to its copper surface. Whenever the sheet is exposed to light, it activates substances with high oxidizing power that breaks down virus particles and bacteria.
The developer company said at a press conference that copper fiber will be incorporated masks and gloves. But, also as a protective material in any place that is touched by more than one person such as lift buttons, light switches, handrails, things on the trains and door handles. In March, Japan’s National Institutes of Health said that the survival of the new coronavirus on surfaces such as plastic and stainless steel was between 48 and 72 hours and .
Sources: La Vanguardia, Linkedin, El Diario, La Vanguardia, El País, Fellow Funders, International Press
