Chain of Support for Ford’s COVID-19 Ventilators

Ford Motor Co., in collaboration with GE Healthcare, is now producing a special version of Airon Corp’s FDA-cleared ventilator at Ford’s Rawsonville, MI plant. Ford expects to produce 50,000 ventilator units within the next 100 days, for use on COVID-19 patients in hospitals. Ford plans to produce 30,000 units each month thereafter as needed.

Future Tool & Machine Inc. of Romulus, Mich., who is a Ford subcontractor in this effort, is using Mini-Mover’s Rotary Table Accumulator (RTA) to help speed manufacturing progress. Future Tool is making a precision valve assembly that is part of each Ford/GE/Airon ventilator unit. Future Tool will produce 50,000 of these valves, each valve containing 14 components – five of which the company is custom machining in-house. Assembly takes place on a custom line, built in-house specifically for this COVID-19 related project. Their production team can assemble one valve every 30 seconds using five people, with each valve 100-percent tested on specially-built Cincinnati Test Systems equipment. The valve assemblies are then packaged and shipped to Ford for final unit construction.

Mini-Mover Rotary Table Accumulator (RTA) at Future Tool

Each Ford/GE/Airon ventilator unit is called the Model A-E, which is a simplified design optimized for quick production. Its design meets the needs of most COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure or difficulty breathing. The ventilator runs on on air pressure without the need for electricity. The Model A-E is aimed at speedy setup – making it easy for healthcare workers to use – and can be deployed in an emergency room setting, during special procedures or in an intensive care unit, wherever the patient may be located.

• For more information about this Ford Motor Co, project, view the company’s news release.