Shantou or Savior? Tesla leads the refitting tide of ventilator in automobile industry?
The COVID-19 epidemic is still raging around the world. By 22: 00 on April 15, Beijing time, the number of confirmed cases in the world had exceeded 20 1 10,000, including 6 1 10,000 in the United States and more than 1 10,000 in several major European countries.
In Europe and America, compared with Luoyang's expensive masks, behind the serious shortage of ventilators is the fresh life under the fracture of medical resources.
Who will be the hero of this era?
Musk, the seemingly omnipotent business genius, Silicon Valley Iron Man, may be one of them.
Leading Tesla ventilator?
On April 6th, Tesla, founded by Musk, posted a short video of less than 4 minutes on YouTube with only one theme: Tesla ventilator.
According to the engineer in the video, the prototype first presses the gas meeting the medical standard into the cylindrical oxygen mixing chamber, and the cylindrical mixing chamber and its supporting air pressure regulator are obviously from Model? Air suspension system. After that, it will pass through a series of sensors and filtration systems, such as flow sensors and pressure sensors, and then enter the patient's lungs through the throttle valve responsible for generating pressure waves. In order to ensure the visualization of key indicators such as pressure and flow, engineers use Model? 3 central control touch screen of infotainment system. Through the indicators such as gas supply frequency and pressure waveform, doctors can not only judge the inspiratory and expiratory conditions of patients' lungs in real time, but also match the key parameters with the throttle valve to carry out personalized treatment for patients.
The biggest feature of Tesla ventilator is that Musk's engineers have completed the manufacture of the ventilator prototype with genius creativity and only using the existing parts in their hands.
Lars, Vice President of Tesla Engineering? Moravy said in the video: "We can help medical institutions without encroaching on medical equipment resources and avoid crowding out the supply chain of traditional ventilator manufacturers in the production process."
Models? Air suspension. Source: Tesla
Models? The central control panel of 3. Source: Tesla
In addition to this prototype, Musk also said on Twitter that Tesla plans to restart its factory in Buffalo, new york, and cooperate with Irish ventilator manufacturer Medtronic to produce ventilators.
Send charcoal in the snow or a hype expert?
However, this does not mean that Tesla ventilator can really save new york and the United States.
In fact, the mechanical and electrical integration is not complicated, and the prototype design and assembly of existing components can be completed under the leadership of doctors in most first-class engineering colleges. At present, the E-Event of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the VESper project of the University of South Carolina are developing similar prototypes, and Mercedes AMG team engineers who have won the Formula One championship for six consecutive years have also developed a ventilator prototype in the shortest time.
According to "cars? Motor? According to Sport's interview with respiratory doctors, Tesla brand ventilator is more suitable to be used as a portable ventilator. If it can be mass-produced, this ventilator is very suitable as an auxiliary breathing device for ambulances and patients on the way to the hospital. However, at present, the key to determine the mortality rate of COVID-19 patients in various countries is the large fixed invasive ventilator in the intensive care unit.
Generally speaking, medical ventilators are subdivided into noninvasive mechanical ventilation (noninvasive? Ventilaton (NIV) and invasive mechanical ventilation (invasive? Mechanical? Ventilation, IMV (invasive ventilator) two categories. Non-invasive ventilator provides oxygen through a closed mask worn on the patient's face, while the oxygen delivery tube of invasive ventilator needs to go deep into the patient's trachea (through tracheotomy). In addition, there is the most advanced extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), which is regarded as the ultimate weapon, that is, the equipment commonly known as "leaf membrane" or "artificial lung".
Compared with Tesla ventilator, which focuses on gas pressure, gas supply frequency and other key indicators, professional invasive ventilator also needs to adjust the oxygen concentration (up to 90% oxygen content instead of 2 1% atmospheric oxygen content), control the humidity through atomization and humidification, and heat it to a suitable temperature according to the patient's personal situation to ensure the patient's lungs to be supported to the greatest extent. If the patient's condition can improve, the ventilator needs to gradually reduce the oxygen concentration, so that the patient can adapt to spontaneous breathing again.
A series of complicated parameter settings and combinations make it difficult for even nurses and doctors to operate such ventilators independently. Generally speaking, this kind of ventilator needs a specialist from the manufacturer or a specially trained doctor to operate it. The supporting medical knowledge is also something that automobile manufacturers can't provide independently.
Whether Tesla has given guidance and communication with medical institutions or medical equipment manufacturers on ventilator matters is still unknown.
Previously, Doelger, a German ventilator manufacturer, publicly questioned the factory's ability to produce ventilators, and Doelger is also the largest ventilator manufacturer in China. In Doelger's view, the core of the ventilator is not the pneumatic components, but the electronic system and software system that control the pneumatic components.
According to the experience of software development, it is impossible to independently develop and debug a new software system in just a few months.
Another problem faced by Tesla brand ventilators is that compared with existing ones such as ISO? 26262 and other automotive industry quality standards, the regulatory authorities have stricter standards for medical devices. Although the FDA of the US Food and Drug Administration has indicated that it will relax the regulatory standards for ventilators, so that the output of ventilators can be rapidly increased, the review process usually takes two to three years to catch up with the speed of confirmed cases in the United States.
Tesla did not provide the production schedule of its ventilator.
Colmo Ye, the governor of New York, also said that Tesla's ventilator could not prepare for the epidemic peak in new york.
Another controversial point between Musk and his Tesla is Musk's high-profile expression on Twitter that he will shelve the "disloyalty" behavior after the homemade ventilator.
Previously, Musk had purchased thousands of masks and 1 255 ventilators from China and donated them to Lincoln Hospital in new york. However, according to The New York Times, part of the equipment donated by Tesla is actually just a Bi-PAP for treating sleep apnea.
Although Musk insists that Bi-PAP can provide respiratory support for patients with respiratory diseases, this non-invasive ventilator has little effect on critical illness in COVID-19. Previously, there was a case in which COVID-19 spread in a nursing home in Washington State because of the use of C-PAP (continuous positive airway pressure, reducing the distribution form of Bi-PAP).
In addition, the fan renovation plan of Tesla's factory in Buffalo, new york is not so simple. As a battery factory in cooperation with Panasonic, the factory received a state subsidy of 750 million US dollars at the beginning of its establishment, and the condition of the gambling agreement was that Tesla needed to create more than 1000 jobs for the local area. After Panasonic announced its withdrawal from the cooperation with Tesla last month, ensuring the number of employees employed in the name of modifying ventilators is also the best solution for Tesla to avoid paying a fine of 4 1 10,000 USD.
As for the cooperation between Tesla and Medtronic, at present, Medtronic officials only confirm that another company of Musk, Space Exploration Technology Company, is indeed supplying valves and other parts for it, and the cooperation of ventilators is still inconclusive.
Traditional automobile factory: steady old guys
Tesla may be the brightest star in the tide of automobile manufacturers switching to ventilators, but in fact, it is far more than Tesla that has made great achievements in ventilator production, and many even go further.
As Tesla's rivals in the American domestic market, Ford and GM are representatives of steady and steady progress. Different from Tesla's DIY scheme, Ford and GM chose to cooperate steadily with regular ventilator manufacturers.
Ford, the fastest-growing company, has been authorized by Airon, a ventilator manufacturer in Florida, and approved by FDA to produce portable pNeuton? Models? Type a ventilator.
This kind of ventilator uses analog electrical components in a large area, only equipped with switch and dial control mechanism, and does not have real-time monitoring functions such as electronic screen. Compared with the invasive ventilator with a starting price of $50,000, the number of parts of this ventilator has dropped from more than 1000 to about 300.
According to Ford's plan, the company will cooperate with UAW from April 20th, and invest 500 employees to start formal production in the factory in Michigan. It is estimated that the output will reach 65,438+0,500 units by the end of April and 50,000 units by the beginning of July, and the production capacity will stabilize at 30,000 units per month after independence. Arion, the original manufacturer of this type of ventilator, has a monthly production capacity of less than 65,438+000 units.
Models? Production plan of ventilator. Source: Ford
GE and Ford's model? Type a ventilator. Source: Ford
As for GM, which was previously accused by Trump on Twitter of trying to make a fortune, it is also with Ventec, a ventilator manufacturer based in Washington. Life? In cooperation with Systems, it is planned to produce a simplified version of VOCSN intensive care ventilator owned by Ventec at its factory in Cocomo, Indiana.
At present, GM has received orders for 30,000 ventilators designated by the Trump administration. GM is expected to deliver hundreds of ventilators before the end of April, and the monthly output will be more than 65,438 438+ 10/00000 after June.
General Motors' VOCSN ventilator production line. Source: business? inside
It is the Germans who are slower and more stable than the Americans.
Perhaps it is because the German Association of Engineers VDI and the German Association of Machinery Industry VDMA have a negative attitude towards the production transformation of automobile factories, or perhaps it is because the death toll in Germany is far lower than that in other western countries, and the German automobile enterprises headed by Volkswagen have focused on providing respirator manufacturers with spare parts such as respirator masks and air filter elements.
The mass movement in hanover (VW? Motorsport), Wolfsburg headquarters and Audi headquarters, Ingall Stadt and other Volkswagen Group's more than 50 3D printing equipment are all producing accessories such as respirator masks and protective clothing inner supports at full capacity. In addition to sewing masks, the Lamborghini Bologna factory under the group also joined the team of 3D printed masks; Skoda factory in Prague, Czech Republic has successfully cooperated with Bradat University of Technology to develop a 3D printing scheme of European standard FFP3 mask (N99). At Martorell Seat factory in Barcelona, Volkswagen successfully started assembling a simple ventilator on Leon production line a week ago, but the ventilator still needs the final approval of Spanish health department.
Combined with the experience of Ford, GM and Volkswagen, perhaps the cooperation between automobile enterprises and professional ventilator manufacturers is the correct way to open the car industry to make social contributions to medical institutions under the current epidemic situation.
Like the CEO of Resmai, a ventilator manufacturer based in San Diego, California? Mick? Farrell said that with Tesla's lithium battery, the ventilator can be used better. However, Resmai did not disclose whether there are plans to cooperate with Tesla.
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.