Ford announced today that it is partnering with 3M in order to manufacture powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These respirators are often called positive-pressure masks as they take contaminated air, pull it through a filter, then push it to the sealed mask using an air blower.
Ford will assist by providing components from their parts bin to build the respirators. The design released by Ford (top) will use 3M filters that draw air into a blower motor sourced from an F-150 and then pushed through a tube up to a mask that is sealed to the user’s face.
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The great thing about using off-the-shelf parts is that most of the pieces needed to assemble these respirators are available in fairly large quantities. The seat blower motors can be pulled off the shelf by Ford and they can request more from their suppliers if needed. The drill battery packs use a standard interface and are available from the original equipment manufacturers as well as many aftermarket sources.
How Ford Is Using Seat Ventilation Fans to Build Thousands of Respirators
IO can almost see the technically purist in the medical field cringe with horror. But as we are fond to say: “If it looks stupid but works, it ain’t stupid.”
Kudos to Ford and the redneck engineers that came up with this.
Hat Tip Scott M.
I am sure the FDA will show up, declare they cannot be properly sterilized, and forbid their use in any certificated medical facility
That’s what they’re paid for!
This is a PAPR which is a type of PPE. This is not a ventilator. A PAPR is a hood that fits over your head and sucks air in through a filter you wear on a belt that goes around your waist, and pumps the filtered air into your hood. The filtered air you don’t breath escapes out through the hood. Because it is positive pressure to the atmosphere, it doesn’t need to be sealed against the skin like a gas mask. It blows contaminated air away from the face.
This is the only OHSA/NIOSH approved system for fully bearded needing respirators. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worn a PAPR for work.
This is something you might see a worker in a paint booth wearing when spraying powder coat.
This is not the same as a ventilator which is a piece of medical equipment that sends a tube down your windpipe to inflate your lungs.
A PAPR won’t need FDA approval because it’s not a medical device.
I’m reminded of the Apollo 13 makeshift. Nice.
Beat me to it!
I saw that movie in theaters when I was 12. That scene is what made me want to be an engineer.
Speaking as someone who works in a hospital with numerous Covid cases I would LOVE to have one of these instead of the masks we are now using (NOT N-95). I have used PAPRs before but they are not available now (not complaining, others need much more than I) my only question is how available are the mask portions. At my institution we are running short on everything.