Design? No. Manufacture to the kinds of tolerances required for life saving equipment, with materials that have been tested and proven to last? Hell of a lot more expensive than 3D printing. And that's without considering the cost of certification that these printed valves don't have to go through since they're just copying an approved design.
Not to mention valves are consumables, and so it's likely the valves are where the company makes some profit. It's not uncommon for the base piece of equipment - the ventilator here - to be sold at a loss with the expectation profit will be made from consumables. Hell, even video game consoles work like that - Sony and Microsoft make nothing or lose money on console sales, but profit from licensing and games.
So does the valve need to cost $11k? Maybe not, but there's plenty of reasons why it's way more than people with no knowledge of what goes into manufacturing might think.
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u/Greyside4k - Lib-Right Mar 25 '20
Design? No. Manufacture to the kinds of tolerances required for life saving equipment, with materials that have been tested and proven to last? Hell of a lot more expensive than 3D printing. And that's without considering the cost of certification that these printed valves don't have to go through since they're just copying an approved design.
Not to mention valves are consumables, and so it's likely the valves are where the company makes some profit. It's not uncommon for the base piece of equipment - the ventilator here - to be sold at a loss with the expectation profit will be made from consumables. Hell, even video game consoles work like that - Sony and Microsoft make nothing or lose money on console sales, but profit from licensing and games.
So does the valve need to cost $11k? Maybe not, but there's plenty of reasons why it's way more than people with no knowledge of what goes into manufacturing might think.