When Dr Iain Crossingham, respiratory consultant at Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital’s Chest Clinic, identified the need to increase available ventilator capacity by commissioning the design and production of a single-use, consumable exhalation valve, Mackart Additive was ready to respond.

In a matter of hours, Mackart Additive developed a detailed 3D CAD model of the component, which was approved by Dr Crossingham for production to begin the very next day. “When the part arrived it worked perfectly,” says Crossingham. “Over recent days we have used the new exhalation valve to successfully ventilate a test lung, which is amazing.”
For further information www.mackartadditive.com

Midland Bearings, a West Midlands-based distributor of high-quality bearings, says it is already starting to see the impact of China reopening its economy.

The company is prepping space to welcome 23 full containers of stock being shipped from China after deliveries were suspended in April due to coronavirus. All 23 containers are due to arrive at Felixstowe within the next three weeks.
For further information www.midlandbearings.com

Unicut Precision, a subcontractor based in Welwyn Garden City, has now repurposed 75% of its capacity to the manufacture of medical components for the Government’s Ventilator Challenge UK.

The company operates 22 Cincom sliding-head lathes and eight Miyano fixed-head turning centres from one supplier, Citizen Machinery UK. The workload has now reached 780,000 components across 31 varieties, which Unicut is currently producing 24/7. More than 80% of this work is being produced on the Citizen-supplied machines. Social distancing on the shop floor and in the offices is said to be working well.
For further information www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

Maintaining supply to critical utilities customers and helping protect vital IT cabling for the NHS has kept the UK’s oldest hot-dip galvaniser open for business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Corbetts the Galvanizer has used its 160 years of experience to pivot some of its operations to provide galvanising services for covers at sewage treatment plants, and for cable trays and ladder racking used at the NHS Nightingale Hospitals in Birmingham and Manchester.
The company, which has kept more than 50% of its workforce operational, is now planning to ramp up volumes in line with government guidance on social distancing. This move will allow Corbetts to increase activity within its other customer markets, which include leisure, automotive and trailer manufacturing.
For further information https://wcorbett.co.uk

Coventry-based steering systems specialist Pailton Engineering has invested in a Haas VF-2SS machining centre to boost its production and design capabilities.

The latest purchase is part of the business’s long-term modernisation strategy, to improve manufacturing flexibility for its made-to-order steering parts. Chosen specifically for its wide range of tooling and automation capabilities, the machine combines multiple processes into one unit.
For further information www.pailton.com