
Ford partners with 3M, GE to make respirators, ventilators and face shields - SQL2219
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/ford/2020/03/24/ford-partners-3-m-ge-healthcare-respirators-ventilators-face-shields/2905986001/
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crankylinuxuser
If you'd like to help with the PPE efforts going to doctors, nurses, and other
frontline staff, please come to @masksfordocs

Slack invite: [https://join.slack.com/t/masksfordocs/shared_invite/zt-
cyer3...](https://join.slack.com/t/masksfordocs/shared_invite/zt-
cyer3hl0-s8yQkJtn6PRFuPQX5GARwg)

(dang, if you see this, I kindly request you sticky or pin this.)

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wikibob
Note: This is for portable battery powered respirators for healthcare workers
to breath filtered air.

NOT for Ventilators used to keep patients alive.

~~~
tootie
Yeah, they mention ventilators a few times, but it seems they are talking only
about respirators (ie protective N95 masks). Gov Cuomo just said today he has
a projected shortfall of 30,000 ventilators and they aren't available
anywhere. The FEMA stockpile is 20,000 of which they have been promised 400.
Ford and GM can score some PR and help medical workers by producing
respirators, but we could be facing hundreds or thousands of excess deaths
unless the DPA is invoked to produce ventilators and needs to happen a month
ago.

~~~
madengr
So Cumo wants all 20,000 ventilators for NYC, and I suppose the rest of the
country can just fuck-off?

Considering NYC has about 8M population, that 400 is just about the proper
allocation.

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haltingproblem
I understand the stress we are all under but there is really no need for that
language. If you heard his press conference he reiterated that NYC is just
ahead of the nation and what is happening in NYC will repeat in the rest of
the nation and he will ensure that the respirators are sent on to other parts
of the nation once the peak passes in NYC.

"The governor also directly addressed the rest of the nation. He said he would
not hold onto the ventilators in New York once the need passes and he pleaded
for unity for amid a national crisis."

Source: [https://www.politico.com/states/new-
york/albany/story/2020/0...](https://www.politico.com/states/new-
york/albany/story/2020/03/24/cuomo-to-trump-administration-you-pick-
the-26k-people-who-are-going-to-die-1268833)

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benjohnson
Have a 3D printer? Have weird office supplies? Search for the 3D models for
the plastic 8.5 x 11 (or A4) plastic used for transparencies, report covers et
al.

Our local hospital here in the Seattle area is taking all that we can make.

~~~
Waterluvian
To add context. That supplies the plastic screen. The printer is used to print
the headband and support frame.

~~~
tootie
I'd imagine a PLA-printed headband would be very uncomfortable.

~~~
crankylinuxuser
Indeed. But we recommend printing medical PPE out of PETG instead, due to its
imperviousness to alcohol and bleach (for cleansing). twitter @masksfordocs

And yes, the wounds people face with even professional PPE are harsh. These
medical first responders are wearing it 16h days..

~~~
burfog
The powered respirators can be very comfortable. They don't need a tight seal
against the skin, so they don't have that to cause injury. The forced air
leaks out around a loose seal, preventing contamination. The most comfortable
design is probably a full head covering, with a loose stretchy collar fitted
around the person's neck. That could even be porous fabric.

An excellent design would use a semi-rigid clear plastic helmet (like the
plastic of a 2-liter soda bottle) with a Spandex neck collar. Another design
is just a clear plastic bag.

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Glench
Now imagine if, after this emergency is over, industries retooled like this to
decarbonize.

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ck2
Well, I guess we'll be ready for the second wave a couple weeks after Easter.

Actually maybe not, isn't that going to take them months to produce? Do you
see an ETA in there? I can't find one.

(I mean the ventilators)

