黑料正能量

By: Sachin Waikar
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In the ongoing battle against COVID-19, personal protective equipment such as facemasks and shields have been in critically short supply.

Luckily, companies like Chicago-based , which was cofounded by , , and others, are conducting multipronged efforts to design and produce PPE.

鈥淲e help companies discover, design, make and fulfill new things for the world,鈥� says Nanry, Fast Radius鈥檚 chief fulfillment officer. 鈥淥ur motto is 鈥楳ake new things possible.鈥欌��

鈥淲e started the business to address the opportunity of a growing 鈥榦n-demand鈥� purchasing environment,鈥� says Smith, who subsequently departed Fast Radius to launch and advise multiple new ventures. 鈥淐ustomers can order what they want, when they want it, where they need it, and in the exact quantity required. The shift to this new model is inevitable.鈥�

Fast Radius carries out its mission largely by helping customers create new applications with manufacturing technologies 鈥� with a focus on 3D printing. 鈥淲e do everything from integrating 50 parts of a component into a single, 3D-printed part to leveraging technology to shorten a customer鈥檚 supply chain,鈥� Nanry says. So the company helps with both the design and manufacture of critical items for other businesses across sectors, including , , consumer goods, and .

As the COVID crisis mounted, Nanry and fellow Fast Radius leaders saw potential for positive impact. 鈥淭here was a lot of demand for PPE from hospitals and other essential businesses with frontline workers,鈥� he says. 鈥淭raditional supply chains weren鈥檛 set to fulfill this. The country as a whole just didn't have the inventory.鈥�

Given Fast Radius鈥檚 expertise in 3D printing, Nanry had conversations with government officials including state representatives about using the technology to help combat COVID: 鈥淲e quickly scanned to identify where 3D printing could drive real impact of scale.鈥�

Ultimately, the business has focused on several key areas. The first is , which protect healthcare workers and others from airborne particles created by coughs and sneezes, for example. Specifically, Fast Radius developed a 3D-printing approach to the headband that holds the shield in place 鈥� or the 鈥渉alo鈥� as the company refers to the part. They鈥檙e able to produce a large volume of the halos and purchase the plastic shield from outside manufacturers, delivering tens of thousands of units weekly.

The company produced the designs in-house then scaled up production, using their Chicago-based factory for 3D printing where possible, then transitioned to traditional, less expensive manufacturing methods such as injection molding to handle larger volumes. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very agile way of working,鈥� Nanry says.

Fast Radius also designed a that can be downloaded and printed by hobbyists. 鈥淚f the public at home uses our design to get one mask out of their printer a day,鈥� Nanry says, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 great. They can use it themselves or donate it. That鈥檚 another way we鈥檙e scaling impact.鈥�

Fast Radius has also worked with original equipment manufacturers to produce key , given the criticality of these machines in the effort to combat COVID.

鈥淲e鈥檝e plugged ourselves into a 鈥榬apid-response鈥� supply chain to leverage the benefits of 3D printing to really increase production volume and speed,鈥� Nanry says of the overall effort. 鈥淭he basic idea behind our pandemic response efforts is to design, print, test, iterate.鈥�

Among the lessons learned from the company鈥檚 COVID-focused efforts has been the speed and agility with which manufacturing players and the broader supply chain have moved in the face of the crisis.

鈥淲e鈥檙e grateful to be in a position where we鈥檙e able to move very quickly and allocate both R&D and production resources to help the broader community in a time of need,鈥� says , chief marketing officer of Fast Radius. 鈥淲e鈥檙e now producing supplies that didn鈥檛 exist just a few months ago.鈥�

鈥淢anufacturing is known for being slow and dusty,鈥� Nanry says. 鈥淏ut everyone has stepped up, from the big companies you hear about in the headlines to the family businesses supplying the Velcro straps for the face-shield halo we make. Everyone is moving with a sense of urgency.鈥�

Now Nanry and fellow Fast Radius leaders will apply what they鈥檝e learned to current and future pandemic-related efforts. For example, the business is actively ramping up coronavirus test swab production 鈥� another item that has been in short supply. For this one, they鈥檒l partner with a medical-device firm to deliver the final product.

In general, Fast Radius is eager to increase its involvement in the healthcare space. 鈥淭his effort has reinforced the importance of our work in medical devices,鈥� Nanry says. 鈥淲e are a Series B startup and things are going well. We absolutely plan to continue producing COVID PPE while looking for more projects that will help us grow.鈥�