Why car manufacturers like Vinfast, Ford or Tesla can switch to ventilators?

According to the official announcement of Vingroup on April 3, 2020, the group will participate in the manufacture of ventilators and body heat meters to supply to the Ministry of Health. In the coming month, Vingroup is expected to start shipping the first ventilator models for delivery to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science and Technology for appraisal and certification of quality before being put into use in medical facilities. Internationally.

Vingroup is not the first carmaker to join the production of ventilators to support efforts to reverse the Covid-19 pandemic. Around the world, famous car brands such as Ford, GM, Tesla, Ferrari, Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, McLaren, Fiat Chrysler, etc. are all involved in supporting governments and equipment companies. medical production of this essential device.

So, what motivated car manufacturers to quickly switch to ventilator production?

Ability to design and develop “super speed”

The car market is highly volatile. The requirements for the car industry are also relatively stringent: each new product has to keep pace with competitors, have new features to “attract” users, and must be thoroughly tested to Ensure safety for users. Therefore, car manufacturers also hold important skills: researching competitive products, designing and developing rapidly (year by year), manufacturing with high accuracy and testing according to Extremely demanding cycle.

These advantages have shown quite clearly while they shift to manufacturing medical equipment, especially in the context of urgency and urgency today. A prime example is the cooperation between the Mercedes F1 racing team and the University of London (UCL): in less than a week, this group has successfully developed CPAP equipment (roughly translated: continuous positive pressure machine ), a machine that is not a breathing machine but still plays an important role in the treatment of nCoV.

Equally important, this development / design skill will also play a vital role as car factories have to adapt machines and processes to suit the manufacturing process of ventilators. Within the next two weeks, both Ford and GM will begin manufacturing ventilators at automobile plants. ” People are really ‘leaving the sea’ to increase their ventilator production, we are only a few weeks away from delivering life-saving devices ,” GM Vice President Gerald Johnson said.

Extensive supply chain

Breathing apparatus and cars use many common materials such as metal, plastic and silicon semiconductors (for electronic components). Car manufacturers often have materials research and development departments and also hold a huge supply chain, including many associate companies. Health companies are working with car manufacturers so they can quickly expand their supply chains. This is the advantage mentioned in the cooperation between GM and Ventec or between Ferrari, Fiat Chrysler and Siare Engineering (the largest manufacturer of ventilators in Italy).

Within just a few ceremonies, GM has enabled Ventec to plan the full supply / production of 700 VOSCN ventilator components. Sieare even bluntly stated that Fiat Chrysler and Ferrari’s ability to import components would allow the company to access hard-to-find parts. This is an extremely important advantage in the context of the global component supply industry heavily affected by Covid-19.

Machinery and assembly lines

Car machinery and assembly lines can be used in the manufacture of ventilators. In an official statement to Yahoo News, Vauxhall said: ” We will provide the service as an assembly plant, and we will also have 3D printing capabilities .” In an interview with Guardian, another car company representative in the UK said that companies with intensive design software and 3D printing technology would be “very suitable” to help produce the necessary components for companies. Medical equipment is overloaded.

Even paint shops can play an important role in ancillary production. According to Vauxhall, with the normal production line, the paint shop in the factory is equipped with many environmental monitoring monitoring devices, quite similar to the conditions required for medical devices.

In the ideal scenario, car manufacturers simply need to get involved in producing designs that are available from medical companies. CEO Medtronic claims Tesla will produce “one of Medtronic products”, while Ford will work with General Electrics to produce a minimalistic (non-electric) ventilator designed by Airon.

Highly skilled workers

Due to Covid’s influence, many factories were closed and workers had to quit their jobs. However, this is the source of the labor force used to working in an environment that requires high accuracy, suitable for shifting to ventilator production. Ford and Tesla’s manufacturing of ventilators will be carried out at factories that they previously closed due to Covid-19.

Car manufacturer of Vietnam

In Vietnam, Vingroup fully converges factors that allow car manufacturers to switch to ventilator production quickly. The company’s official statement said the ventilator could be shipped just a day after the components are complete, using designs provided by Medtronic and MIT.

Ms. Le Thi Thu Thuy – Vice President of Vingroup said: ” Vingroup has an advantage of having two companies manufacturing cars and electronics, so we can manufacture all the parts at the same time. large, mechanical parts and difficult and rare components at the moment like electronic boards We also have good design engineers to be able to transform concept and 2D designs because vendors provide detailed, complete designs required by manufacturers . ”

Of course, the road ahead still faces many challenges: Vingroup will still have to depend on the supply partners, and it must be assessed and certified by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science and Technology to obtain the certificate. It is certain that “Made in Vietnam” ventilators are of sufficient quality to be used at health facilities nationwide. However, it is clear that Vingroup’s participation in the manufacture of ventilators is still a good thing. For the first time in history, the country of Vietnam has an industrial / hi-tech corporation, capable of participating in the production of “weapons” against the most dangerous “enemy” of 2020: the Covid- 19.