FORECAST 3D, a GKN Powder Metallurgy company, announced this week that production is ramping up and will reach more than 1 million of its nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs shipped for use in COVID-19 test kits by next month.
FORECAST 3D launched the swabs last month after spending about six weeks rapidly developing a manufacturing solution. FORECAST 3D can mass produce up to 100,000 swabs per day using its fleet of industrial-grade HP Jet Fusion 3D printing systems.
“With more than one million swabs ordered in just a month, it’s clear there was a need for healthcare and testing facilities to quickly get these critical supplies,” said Ken Burns, Commercial Vice President at FORECAST 3D. “We are proud to have been able to use additive manufacturing to quickly adapt and scale production to serve this need."
For initial diagnostic testing for COVID-19, CDC recommends collecting and testing an upper respiratory nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal specimen. The nasopharyngeal spiral swab design was selected from 150 designs evaluated in expedited clinical tests. The swab designs were evaluated for patient sensitivity, ability to collect sufficient viral fluid, comfort, and breakpoint reliability.
“As a leading 3D parts provider, FORECAST 3D is responding to the urgent need for test swabs in a massive way,” said Philipp Jung, global head of end-to-end solutions, HP 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing. “COVID-19 has exposed the disruptive benefits of 3D printing and Forecast 3D is leveraging our optimized HP swab design as well as the speed, quality and flexibility of HP’s advanced 3D printing solutions to meet the ongoing demands of the pandemic. The collaboration demonstrates the power of new ecosystems and the impact of distributed manufacturing.”
The swabs are available in bulk to healthcare and testing facilities nationwide. For more information or to place an order, visit https://www.forecast3d.com/services/testingswabs.
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ABOUT FORECAST 3D:
For more than 25 years, FORECAST 3D has 3D printed and machined parts for industries ranging from healthcare to aerospace to consumer goods. With in-house engineering and additive manufacturing, CNC and injection molding capabilities, FORECAST works with customers at every stage of the product lifecycle, from design to prototyping to production. The company has the largest additive manufacturing capacity in the U.S., with over 50 machines, and can print as many as 10,000 production parts per day for customers – or as few as one. FORECAST 3D is a GKN Powder Metallurgy company and part of the HP Digital Manufacturers Network.
For more information, visit forecast3d.com.
ABOUT GKN POWDER METALLURGY:
GKN Powder Metallurgy is a full metal shapes solutions provider, shaping powder metal into high performance and high precision components. It provides leading powder metal expertise and process experience to transform ideas into production. The company consists of GKN Hoeganaes, GKN Sinter Metals, and GKN Additive to provide powder materials, conventional components, and Additive Manufacturing production. The company combines three focused businesses under one brand. Together it employs over 7,400 problem solvers over 30 locations, setting its global engineering network at the highest standard.
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