International. German fan manufacturer Ziehl-Abegg has created face masks on 3D printers to protect those struggling with the Coronavirus pandemic.
"Our employees and their families work and live here, so naturally we provide them with as much support as possible, especially during a crisis like this," says CEO Peter Fenkl.
By chance, a Ziehl-Abegg employee received a set of building instructions via WhatsApp on Wednesday night, and on Thursday morning Ziehl-Abegg sent a photo of the first face masks to the Crisis Team at the Local Government Office. Once it gave the immediate go-ahead, both 3D printers went to work at the Künzelsau Inventory Development Center.
"We have been using 3D printing technology since 2010," explains Achim Kärcher, Laboratory Director at Ziehl-Abegg. The Development Center already had its second 3D printer for the following year. The cost of a unit is about 100,000 euros. The layers are printed with a thickness of 0.16 millimeters. "We usually use this to create prototypes to implement new ideas from our engineers," explains Kärcher. "Therefore, we must be able to test new forms quickly and easily," adds the Laboratory Director.
The process of creating the protective masks was also quick and easy: the frame is printed, the lens is a sheet for an overhead projector, a standard piercer pierces the openings, with rubber bands used for fixing. Dr. Matthias Neth, district administrator, says he is also satisfied with the "simple but effective" design. He will pass the temporary masks to the auxiliary staff of the Hohenlohe district. "We are going to get through this crisis together and we can depend on each other," Neth said. "The District Authority is working closely with local businesses in Hohenlohe District," adds the District Administrator.
"We are pleased to be able to help healthcare and care employees in this way," says CEO Fenkl. The medical sector is also part of the company's normal business area: for years, Ziehl-Abegg has been producing large ventilators for operating rooms and quarantine stations. The company supplied special ventilators for Chinese hospitals that were built in the cities of Wuhan, Shandong and Shenzhen in just a few days. The German company also manufactured the core equipment for negative or positive pressure in clinics in Italy and other countries. Currently it also continues to work at full speed manufacturing these fans in Hohenlohe and around the world.
