Additive manufacturing and the COVID-19 challenges: An in-depth study

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) rapidly achieved global pandemic status. The pandemic created huge demand for relevant medical and personal protective equipment (PPE) and put unprecedented pressure on the healthcare system within a very short span of time. Moreover, the supply chain system faced extreme disruption as a result of the frequent and severe lockdowns across the globe. In such a situation, additive manufacturing (AM) becomes a supplementary manufacturing process to meet the explosive demands and to ease the health disaster worldwide. Providing the extensive design customization, a rapid manufacturing route, eliminating lengthy assembly lines and ensuring low manufacturing lead times, the AM route could plug the immediate supply chain gap, whilst mass production routes restarted again. The AM community joined the fight against COVID-19 by producing components for medical equipment such as ventilators, nasopharyngeal swabs and PPE such as face masks and face shields. The aim of this article is to systematically summarize and to critically analyze all major efforts put forward by the AM industry, academics, researchers, users, and individuals. A step-by-step account is given summarizing all major additively manufactured products that were designed, invented, used, and produced during the pandemic in addition to highlighting some of the potential challenges. Such a review will become a historical document for the future as well as a stimulus for the next generation AM community.

Keywords: 3D printing; Additive manufacturing; COVID-19; Pandemic; Personal protective equipment (PPE).

Fig. 1

Basic steps of the five major AM techniques widely used in making the 3D printed products during the COVID-19 pandemic: (a) SLA: Stereolithography Apparatus, (b) MultiJet (or PolyJet) Printing, (c) SLS: Selective Laser Sintering, (d) MJF: Multi Jet Fusion, (e) FDM/FFF: Fused Deposition Modelling/Fused Filament Fabrication.

Fig. 2

A flowchart showing the interrelations among various materials, AM techniques, and major 3D printed products to face the COVID-19 pandemic challenges. SLA: Stereolithography, DLP: Digital Light Processing, FDM: Fused Deposition Modelling, SLS: Selective Laser Sintering, MJF: Multi Jet Fusion. For a detailed description of all major AM techniques used in polymeric materials can be found in Stansbury et al. .

Fig. 3

Face shield, an essential PPE in the pandemic. (a) An FDM-based printer creates frames of face shields, (b) a face shield with various components, e.g., frame/headband, bracket, and visor, (c) 3D printed face shield from (b) with other PPE worn by an Intensive Care Consultant (Photo credit: Swansea University/UK, University of California San Francisco/USA).

Fig. 4

Surgical face mask is a common PPE in usual time that becomes scarce during the pandemic. (a) Various components of the main structure of a 3D printed face mask, (b) AM creates ample opportunities and customizations in the design of face masks, (c) a perfectly fit 3D printed face mask (Photo credit: National Institute of Health/NIH).

Fig. 5

COVID-19, a respiratory-related disease, creates enormous demands for ventilators. Ventilators and their various components are some of the most essential and life-saving medical equipment. (a) An additively manufactured ventilator valve perfectly replicates an original valve made by traditional manufacturing techniques, (b) 3D printing technology efficiently creates ample options by manufacturing T-connector, Y-connector, etc. for using a single ventilator for multiple patients (Photo credit: Isinnova, VESper).

Fig. 6

Additively manufactured nasopharyngeal swab, an essential ingredient in the fight against the COVID-19: (a) a closeup of three NP sticks that depict the intricate geometries of the instrument, (b) a batch of the NP swabs printed by Carbon3D's DLS technology, (c) Formlabs’ manufactured a variety of NP swabs with the SLA technique of vat polymerization (Photo credit: Carbon3D, Formlabs).