Mechanical Ventilator using parts of a Creality Ender 3 3D Printer

thingiverse

Watch the video for a proper explanation. https://youtu.be/apzCWrx-A8c We're working on creating a Ventilator Design that's ready to use in case there's a shortage of Ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients. Our goal is to create a Mechanical Ventilator using parts from a Creality Ender 3 3D Printer. Before we dive into the details, keep in mind that this project is still a work in progress and hasn't been tested yet. With your feedback and ideas, together we can bring this design to life. The Creality Ender 3 3D Printer is one of the most widely used 3D Printers around the world. Not only the printer itself but also its parts are made from simple materials that are easily available worldwide. We've used the following parts from the 3D printer: X axis Aluminium Extrusion Top bar Aluminum Extrusion Extruder Plate along with Wheels Assembly Nema 17 Stepper motor of X axis Extruder Belt Pulley at the end of X axis X axis Stepper motor plate Along with these parts, we've designed a V shape Structure to hold the Ambu Bag. This design is made in such a way that it's compatible with different size Ambu Bags and holds them firmly in place. We've also created a design for an end effector that will be used for compression and release of the Ambu bag. It's designed so that a large surface area acts on the Ambu bag, causing it to exert maximum force for its decompression. Using the parts from the Ender 3 and the parts we designed, we were able to come up with this mechanism to automate the manual ventilation process. The Ventilator Design consists of a Vertical Axis made from the X axis of the Ender 3. A Roller Assembly which is the Plate with wheels on which the extruder is mounted, moves along the Vertical Axis. The top bar of the Ender 3 is used here as the Horizontal Axis, which is mounted on the Extruder plate firmly. A Nema 17 stepper motor, belt and pulley from the 3D printer X axis drive the Roller Assembly up and down the Vertical Axis. The working of the device is simple: The Ambu Bag is placed on the V shape Structure. The horizontal bar on which the end effector is attached moves up and down, causing the Ambu Bag to Compress and Decompress. The Stepper motor can be controlled using an Arduino Board or Raspberry Pi with a simple program for the motor movement. In a minute, the Ambu Bag needs to be compressed and decompressed about 6 times for normal breathing of the patient. This device helps achieve it with its fast and simple movement of the motor-controlled axis. Speeds up to 200 mm/s can be achieved on an Ender 3, making this device ready for emergency situations where ventilators are required to save patients. The design is open source and available on all major platforms for you to share your feedback, ideas, and work on the design to improve it. With your help and contribution to this project, we can definitely achieve our goal of helping doctors save lives and fight against COVID-19.