3D tech applied to build quarantine wards in 2 hours

While quarantine wards are still a scarcity in Hubei province, a Shanghai-based 3D printing technology company has offered a new solution: a quarantine ward which can be 3D-printed in two hours.

Winsun Building Technique Co Ltd delivered on Tuesday 15 3D printed quarantine wards to the central hospital of Xianning, which is located in southeastern Hubei province. A total of 534 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in the city by Thursday.

Winsun chairman Ma Yihe posted on his personal WeChat Moments on Monday that the company is willing to donate 3D-printed quarantine wards to the epidemic-affected regions. Xianning's deputy Party secretary Xiang Xinghua reached out to Ma and expressed the city's urgent need for such quarantine wards.

According to Ma, one 3D printing machine can complete the construction of a 10-sq-m ward in two hours. The 15 wards were constructed and were set for delivery in 24 hours. All of them were installed on Wednesday and put into use on Thursday. The daily output will reach 100 quarantine wards once all the company's 20 machines are put into use, he said.

According to Ma, the quarantine ward that they have delivered to Hubei this time covers a total of 10 square meters each, installed with a separate toilet. It can accommodate a maximum of two beds. Made of recycled industrial residue and construction waste, the ward is heat insulating and resistant to wind and earthquake. The cost of such a quarantine ward is about 20,000 yuan ($2,864).

Unlike traditional hospitals, all the 3D-printed quarantine wards are separate so as to avoid infection via the ventilation system. The ward can be destroyed and rebuilt for other purposes once they complete their mission in Hubei.

Established in 2003, Winsun constructed the world's tallest 3D-printed building－a five-story apartment block in Suzhou in 2015. Specializing in the research and development of 3D printing technology and related solutions, it has reached cooperation with factories in Shanghai, Suzhou and Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu province, and Heze in Shandong province.

Public information shows that Winsun received 150 million yuan in series A financing in 2014. But the investors were not disclosed. According to Ma, the company finalized its initial public offering plan last year, which will be realized sooner if it reaches an annual output of 1 billion yuan this year. The STAR Market at the Shanghai Stock Exchange will be the most appropriate venue for them, he said.

Estimates from Shenzhen-based Qianzhan Industry Research Institute show that the value of the global 3D printer market will exceed $22 billion by 2022, $6.19 billion of which will be contributed by the Chinese market.

At present, the United States takes up the majority of 40 percent of the global market share of 3D printing, followed by Japan, Germany and China. About 90 percent of the market is made up by consumption-level 3D printing machines, with industrial-level machines accounting for the rest.

Manufacturing, medical, education, transportation and aerospace are the major sectors where 3D printing technologies are seeing the most applications at present, according to the institute.