Developing a boutique manufacturing industry to meet a medical need is not something Tomago Aluminium’s Brodie Fairhall imagined he would be doing eight weeks ago.

But the innovation engineer works daily to solve complex problems for Tomago, so using 3D printing to create face shields to combat COVID-19 was a natural progression for Brodie.

Working from home once COVID-19 restrictions were introduced, Brodie became aware of the shortage of PPE in the USA and anticipated that Australia would end up in a similar situation.

He contacted his Manager, Mal Muddle, to request use of some plastics products from Tomago to test prototypes.

Mal said that whilst this was unlike anything Tomago Aluminium had done before, he was keen for Brodie to use their materials to test a prototype.

“Tomago was very happy to sponsor Brodie with time and materials for the project,” he said.

“A project like this is not anything Tomago ever thought we would be involved with, but manufacturers in Australia have to be innovative to survive, and supporting Brodie to create an innovative solution to a problem that would help frontline workers was something we didn’t even have to think about.”

Brodie said once he decided to develop face shields, he contacted hospitals, doctors and Members of Parliament to determine the best approach and to find out about requirements.

“I got resistance at every turn, because so many people were trying to do the same thing,” Brodie explained.

“So, I thought it made sense to form an alliance and work together. We formed the Open Manufacturing Alliance which now has 307 members who have combined to make 50,000 face shields in the past few weeks.”

Brodie said the Alliance was formed of individuals who have 3D printers at home, as well as medium to large companies, some with hundreds of printers, or printer farms. A few medical organisations are also involved.

“There were so may hoops to jump through. People on the ground were telling us they needed equipment, but procurement officers were telling us they didn’t,” he said.

“The 3D community was so keen to help and individuals were making the shields, but ironically we couldn’t give them away, as hospitals weren’t sure if they were allowed to use them from individual suppliers.”

Some large medical companies became involved in the Alliance and were able to get Therapeutic Goods Administration approval for a design that people in the Alliance began producing.

“Once we had TGA approval and could sell the product, suddenly there was demand,” Brodie said.

He said his role morphed from manufacturing product, to managing a huge team of volunteers.

“That was a challenging role and it’s not my area of expertise. People were all enthusiastic but managing volunteers can be challenging.”

Now that the Alliance is operating well, Brodie is keen to progress work with Newcastle organisation

Sparkhaus, operated by health professionals who are working on creating a ventilator. Some of the parts will be made with a 3D printer.

Brodie says the COVID-19 outbreak has proven that the manufacturing sector is highly valuable for crisis response solutions.

“It is now obvious that we are capable of creating a model of quick response in the manufacturing sector, and this should help in future crisis situations where people will be able to learn from this experience, and understand and accept that it is possible to team up and manufacture products locally using innovation.”

Mal said it would be interesting to see the long-term impacts of boutique manufacturing in Australia.

“I think we now realise that there are industries and people who have skills that can ramp up and respond very quickly,” he said.

“Normally we don’t ask locally for problems to be solved because we automatically look to China for cheaper parts or solutions. But this experience might change that.”

IMAGE | Brodie Fairhall with equipment used to make PPE medical supplies.