Race for life: Mercedes F1 engineers use 3D printers to make medical equipment

Around this time of the year, engineers at Mercedes' F1 team are usually busy putting their 3D printers to use to make components that could further improve the performance of the race cars on the track. Around 150,000 components are manufactured each year at production plants but 2020 is like no year that anyone may have ever seen.

The production plants of Daimler - parent company of Mercedes-Benz - are hardly silent now even if what is being manufactured has changed completely. With the world uniting to fight the coronavirus pandemic, the 3D printers used by Mercedes' F1 engineers are now being used to manufacture medical equipment crucial in this fight.

F1 2020 season is yet to begin with two races cancelled and another four pushed back. The engineers at Mercedes F1, however, have not put up their feet and have joined six other F1 teams to help out in the battle against coronavirus pandemic. The 3D printers at their disposal have now been put to work to manufacture breathing aids in the UK, a country that is struggling to tackle the rising cases of coronavirus, which is officially referred to as Covid-19.

In addition, a group of volunteers from the medical team to take care of employees at Daimler plants have begun working with emergency medical services in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim. Daimler also informs that its paramedics are being dispatched directly by the German Red Cross. These employees have been released by the company from their regular duty while an emergency ambulance vehicle has also been provided.

Daimler has also started using its social media platforms to create awareness and help out.

In India, Mercedes-Benz is also helping in the setting up of a 1,500-bed facility specifically meant to treat coronavirus patients. Additionally, the company has made monetary donations as well - both in India and in other parts of the world.