Faced with the shortage of ventilators that affects the United States as well as other nations facing the coronavirus pandemic, Tesla is one of the industrialists who decided to get involved in the supply of medical equipment. And, like Dyson who designed a ventilator in just ten days using parts from its own products, Elon Musk’s firm used components from its electric cars.
In the video below, several Tesla engineers explain how they used parts of the Tesla Model 3 heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system to design the respirator. On the technical diagram of the device, the elements in orange come from the electric car, the aim being to shorten the design and manufacturing process as much as possible.
Tesla engineers designed a ventilator by drawing parts from the Model 3 HVAC and infotainment system.
The prototype that can be seen from 2 min 20 s in the video uses the Model 3 as a display as well as the computer which usually controls the infotainment system. The respirator seems functional, but the engineer who presents it stresses that “there is still a lot of work”. In fact, Tesla did not provide any deadline for its production and possible distribution to hospital departments.
The prototype ventilator developed by Tesla engineers. © Tesla
This article was translated from French to English.
