Projections of a worsening pandemic due to COVID-19 point to the likely strangulation of the national health system, with the inevitable loss of life due to the lack of adequate treatment capacity. In this scenario, the risk of lack of beds in intensive care units stands out, and, more specifically, the lack of mechanical fans.
Seeking to provide an answer to this challenge, this project proposes the implementation of a distributed manufacturing system, based on a network of production units, for the manufacture of a low cost class 1 mechanical fan. The production units will be laboratories and workshops belonging to public and private teaching and research institutes across Brazil, which have 3D printers, CNC’s and laser cutting machines.
The computational infrastructure of the distributed manufacturing system will be based on network concepts and tools already developed within the scope of the Fasten Project, coordinated nationally by INESC P&D Brasil, and supported by the computational infrastructure of the National Teaching and Research Network (RNP). Thus, laboratories, workshops and research groups from all over the country will be able to incorporate their 3D printers, laser cutting machines and CNC’s into this platform, which in turn has the capacity to distribute parts production demands in an optimized way for the manufacture of mechanical fans.
Thus, the FASTEN Vita project has the following strategic goals:
- Build a network manufacturing system with the capacity to distribute the production demands of parts for the manufacture of mechanical fans in an optimized way.
- Adapt the design of low cost class 1 mechanical fans developed in Portugal so that it can be built with inputs available in Brazil.
- Manufacture and distribute the fans so that they arrive in a timely manner where they are needed.
For more information, visit the project page http://fasten-vita.inescbrasil.org.br.