Ford works with 3M, GE, UAW in production of respirators, ventilators for Coronavirus patients

[Jim Oaks]

• Ford is working with 3M to manufacture at scale Powered Air-Purifying Respirators (PAPRs). Ford and 3M are collaborating on the new design leveraging parts from both companies to meet urgent demand for first responders and health care workers; Ford is exploring production of the new PAPR in a Ford facility in addition to 3M production
• Ford and GE Healthcare are working together to expand production of a simplified version of GE Healthcare’s existing ventilator design to support patients with respiratory failure or difficulty breathing
• Ford, in cooperation with the UAW, will assemble more than 100,000 critically needed plastic face shields per week at a Ford manufacturing site to help medical professionals, factory workers and store clerks; Ford also will leverage its in-house 3D printing capability to produce components for use in personal protective equipment

DEARBORN, Mich., March 24, 2020 – Ford Motor Company, joining forces with firms including 3M and GE Healthcare, is lending its manufacturing and engineering expertise to quickly expand production of urgently needed medical equipment and supplies for healthcare workers, first responders and patients fighting coronavirus.

In addition, Ford plans to assemble more than 100,000 face shields per week and leverage its in-house 3D printing capability to produce components for use in personal protective equipment.

“This is such a critical time for America and the world. It is a time for action and cooperation. By coming together across multiple industries, we can make a real difference for people in need and for those on the front lines of this crisis,” said Bill Ford, Ford’s executive chairman. “At Ford, we feel a deep obligation to step up and contribute in times of need, just as we always have through the 117-year history of our company.”

Powered Air-Purifying Respirators

Ford team members are working with 3M to increase the manufacturing capacity of their powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) designs and working jointly to develop a new design leveraging parts from both companies to meet the surge demand for first responders and health care workers. This new respirator could be produced in a Ford facility by UAW workers.

To go as fast as possible, the Ford and 3M teams have been resourcefully locating off-the-shelf parts like fans from the Ford F-150’s cooled seats for airflow, 3M HEPA air filters to filter airborne contaminants such as droplets that carry virus particles and portable tool battery packs to power these respirators for up to eight hours.

Ford is looking at how it might produce these new-generation PAPRs in one of its Michigan manufacturing facilities, helping 3M boost production potentially tenfold.

“Working with 3M and GE, we have empowered our teams of engineers and designers to be scrappy and creative to quickly help scale up production of this vital equipment,” said Jim Hackett, Ford’s president and CEO. “We’ve been in regular dialogue with federal, state and local officials to understand the areas of greatest needs. We are focusing our efforts to help increase the supply of respirators, face shields and ventilators that can help assist health care workers, first responders, critical workers as well as those who have been infected by the virus.”

“We’re exploring all available opportunities to further expand 3M’s capacity and get healthcare supplies as quickly as possible to where they’re needed most – which includes partnering with other great companies like Ford,” said Mike Roman, 3M chairman of the board and chief executive officer. “It’s crucial that we mobilize all resources to protect lives and defeat this disease, and I’m incredibly grateful to Ford and their employees for this partnership.”

Ventilators

In addition, Ford and GE Healthcare are working together to expand production of a simplified version of GE Healthcare’s existing ventilator design to support patients with respiratory failure or difficulty breathing caused by COVID-19. These ventilators could be produced at a Ford manufacturing site in addition to a GE location.

“We are encouraged by how quickly companies from across industries have mobilized to address the growing challenge we collectively face from COVID-19,” said GE Healthcare President & CEO Kieran Murphy. “We are proud to bring our clinical and technical expertise to this collaboration with Ford, working together to serve unprecedented demand for this life-saving technology and urgently support customers as they meet patient needs.”

Work on this initiative ties to a request for help from U.S. government officials.

Respirators and Face Shields

Meanwhile, Ford’s U.S. design team also is quickly creating and starting to test transparent full-face shields for medical workers and first responders. The face shields fully block the face and eyes from accidental contact with liquids and when paired with N95 respirators can be a more effective way to limit potential exposure to coronavirus than N95 respirators alone.

The first 1,000 face shields will be tested this week at Detroit Mercy, Henry Ford Health Systems and Detroit Medical Center Sinai-Grace Hospitals. Roughly 75,000 of these shields are expected to be finished this week and more than 100,000 face shields per week will be produced at Ford subsidiary Troy Design and Manufacturing’s facilities in Plymouth, Mich.

Ford is leveraging its Advanced Manufacturing Center in Redford, Mich., and in-house 3D printing capabilities to manufacture components and subassemblies for use in personal protective equipment.

Ford is evaluating a separate effort not involving GE Healthcare with the U.K. government to produce additional ventilators.

In China, Ford of China joint venture partner Jiangling Motors also has donated 10 specially equipped Transit ambulance vans to hospitals in Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak began. Ford is also reacquiring 165,000 N95 respirators from China that were originally sent by Ford to China earlier this year to help combat coronavirus.

Ford has also kicked off a working team to help hospitals locate and secure urgently needed surgical and N95 respirators. Ford has so far committed sending Henry Ford Health Systems 40,000 surgical masks while it locates additional supplies.

Additional companies and individuals who are interested in contributing to this effort can submit their information here at www.fordnewideas.com.

Ford, along with the companies it is supporting, will provide additional updates as these special projects progress.

 

[8thTon]

Good for them!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Some more info here:

Redirecting

 

[Freddie Fudpucker]

Good thing someone is making them. It seems a company made 200,000 home ventilators, and the CDC told them to destroy them.
They only want the authorized model.

The state sure seems to not give a damn about we the people. Overseas they are making masks out of curtains, and the US is throwing stuff away.

 

[Dirtman]

Where do you come up with this stuff?

 

[19Walt93]

It occurred to me this morning that Ford and Gm both started making ventilators, then Trump ordered GM to do what they were already doing because the democrats insisted. No mention has been made of the other companies building cars in the US: Fiat-owned-Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes, BMW, and Subaru are the ones I can think of. No one's even mentioned asking-much less ordering- them to build anything. Wonder why?

 

[fastpakr]

Toyota, Chrysler, and Tesla are also on the list of companies making them. Not sure about the rest.

Edit - VW, McLaren, Honda, Nissan, Ferrari, and Jaguar/Land Rover have also been approached about it and may be actively working on it. I suspect just about everybody is involved on some level.

Lots of info out there if you search for an individual car company's name and the word ventilator. Here's one from about ten days ago:
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/03/19/ferrari-fiat-ventilator-production-italy/

 

[19Walt93]

Toyota, Chrysler, and Tesla are also on the list of companies making them. Not sure about the rest.

Edit - VW, McLaren, Honda, Nissan, Ferrari, and Jaguar/Land Rover have also been approached about it and may be actively working on it. I suspect just about everybody is involved on some level.

Lots of info out there if you search for an individual car company's name and the word ventilator. Here's one from about ten days ago:
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/03/19/ferrari-fiat-ventilator-production-italy/

I forgot about VW and Tesla. Tesla has never made a profit so their more like Elon's hobby than a car company. I didn't have to search for the news about GM being ordered to produce equipment, the media volunteered it. I should know better than to expect them to keep me informed but I still thought that was their purpose for existing.

 

[fastpakr]

How much information do you expect them to shove at you from an entire world of activity? At some point you have to do some digging on your own and not blame someone else for being uninformed.

By the way - Tesla -has- made a profit. More and more consistently over the last few quarters.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Ford was already working on it. I think Trump just called out GM because they were arguing about the price.

Ford will be making 50,000 ventilators over the next 100 days.

I think there's probably more companies out there that have been voluntarily trying to help, we're just not hearing about it.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Toyota, Chrysler, and Tesla are also on the list of companies making them. Not sure about the rest.

Edit - VW, McLaren, Honda, Nissan, Ferrari, and Jaguar/Land Rover have also been approached about it and may be actively working on it. I suspect just about everybody is involved on some level.

Lots of info out there if you search for an individual car company's name and the word ventilator. Here's one from about ten days ago:
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/03/19/ferrari-fiat-ventilator-production-italy/

I imagine the biggest bottleneck is on it the blower motor supplier end of it since they don't exactly grow on trees, not the end assembly where they stick a filter and a hose on them. If the blower motor supplier can only make 50k motors it doesn't matter if you have 5 or 50 companies assembling them, you are only going to get 50k ventilators.

 

[fastpakr]

Absolutely. Keeping the supply chain at the pace needed when half the components probably come from China normally sounds daunting.

 

[Jim Oaks]

It definitely appears that all of the face masks come from China.

 

[Grumpaw]

Back on Feb 28 th, the boss made this statement...
"We're ordering a lot of supplies. We're ordering a lot of, uh, elements that frankly we wouldn't be ordering unless it was something like this. But we're ordering a lot of different elements of medical. "
This burbling statement indicates that, uh, oh darn, that uh, well they ordered a bunch of stuff that was, uh, medical elements. He couldn't even read the damn teleprompter correctly !
If he had only started to order the proper equipment needed back then.
At least the companies that know how to produce on a large scale are now involved. Hopefully "someone" won't step in to tell them how to do it another way.
Oh well...
Grumpaw

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Back on Feb 28 th, the boss made this statement...
"We're ordering a lot of supplies. We're ordering a lot of, uh, elements that frankly we wouldn't be ordering unless it was something like this. But we're ordering a lot of different elements of medical. "
This burbling statement indicates that, uh, oh darn, that uh, well they ordered a bunch of stuff that was, uh, medical elements. He couldn't even read the damn teleprompter correctly !
If he had only started to order the proper equipment needed back then.
At least the companies that know how to produce on a large scale are now involved. Hopefully "someone" won't step in to tell them how to do it another way.
Oh well...
Grumpaw

I am sure back before we know what it was going to turn into all the automakers would have eagerly shut down auto production to build ventilators.