Sheffield University site's key role in drive to make 10,000 ventilators

The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre is putting training software on ‘augmented reality’ glasses to fast-track setting up new production lines at factories across the country.

Glasses were sent to the AMRC in Rotherham from manufacturing firms and research centres and reprogrammed by a team led by Prof Rab Scott.

They are being despatched to aerospace and automotive factories aiming to make 10,000 devices.

The work is by firms in the Ventilator Challenge UK consortium which came together after Prime Minister Boris Johnson - who is himself in intensive care with Covid-19 - made a plea for an additional 50,000 ventilators to be delivered to the NHS within weeks.

The Microsoft HoloLens glasses allow users to place 3D digital models in the room alongside them which they can explore with gestures.

Prof Scott, AMRC Head of Digital, said: “What we are seeing in South Yorkshire and in North Wales is part of a truly nationwide and global response to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

AMRC Cymru in Broughton, North Wales, is one site making ventilators, in collaboration with car giant Ford.

Dick Elsy, CEO of the HVM Catapult, which has seven centres across the UK including the AMRC and the Nuclear AMRC in Rotherham said: “What we are seeing here is a truly collaborative, international effort, with the best and brightest engineering and manufacturing brains coming together to rally all their resources in response to the distress signal from the NHS.”

AMRC Machining Group staff are making critical components for ventilators. And the Nuclear AMRC has co-ordinated efforts to ensure donated equipment goes to manufacturers who need it most.

The first ventilators will be coming off production lines around the UK as early as next week, according Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove.

Prof Koen Lamberts, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Sheffield, said: “The AMRC and the Nuclear AMRC have always been at the forefront of using innovation to respond to the most pressing challenges. We are incredibly proud of how our staff have risen to this challenge by supporting the design and manufacture of new ventilators and other vital medical equipment at this time of national emergency.

“The Ventilator Challenge UK consortium is a prime example of what can be achieved when industry, academia and the government work together. This approach will remain a critical element in the UK’s crisis response and recovery.”

The Ventilator Challenge UK Consortium comprises: Airbus, GKN Aerospace, BAE Systems, Ford, HVM Catapult, Inspiration Healthcare, Meggit, Microsoft, Penlon, Renishaw, Rolls-Royce, Siemens, Smiths Group, Thales Ultra Electronics, Unilever and UK-based F1 teams (Haas Racing, McLaren, Mercedes, Racing Point, Red Bull Racing, Renault Sport Racing, Williams Racing and Williams Engineering).