A number of organizations, including the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, are offering aid and public funding for Covid-19 projects as part of the EU-based AMable project.

The companies are calling for ideas to be submitted initially and applicable solutions for the additive manufacture (AM) of new products for use in hospitals and medical practices in a second step. The solutions could be funded with part of a €350,000 total.

‘There are already many ideas from SMEs for solving this pressing problem with the aid of additive processes,’ said Ulrich Thombansen, project coordinator and scientist at Fraunhofer ILT. ‘We are investigating in which cases 3D printing can be used to produce components faster and more reliably than conventional processes and how current needs can be met as quickly as possible with new solutions.’

Currently there is a greater demand for small 3D printers on site so that products can be produced locally and on demand, Thombansen says.

Ideas can be submitted here.

This story uses material from Fraunhofer, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.