The MxD Factory Floor in Chicago is more than just a facility; it’s where top minds from industry and government gather to solve the country’s most urgent production challenges.
Whether it’s prototyping a new technology or responding to a national crisis, MxD acts as a neutral ground and force multiplier.
It’s the opposite of a think tank. Because inside the 22,000-square-foot MxD Factory Floor, MxD’s partners can prototype, simulate, and test manufacturing solutions under real-time conditions.
One of the most powerful demonstrations of this came during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ventilators were in short supply, forcing doctors to share machines between two patients — something that had never been done and wasn’t FDA-approved.
Meanwhile, the production of medical devices was and is tightly regulated, meaning that traditional development and testing timelines were far too slow for the urgency of the moment.
MxD was built for this kind of crisis.
With $15 million in CARES Act funding from the Department of Defense, MxD, Fast Radius and Siemens teamed up to explore a novel idea on the Factory Floor: Could a single ventilator safely support two patients?
The team built a digital twin — a virtual blueprint — of the ventilator system. This way, they could tweak the performance of the system without putting actual patients at risk.
The digital twin ran alongside the original device to gather real-time insights, collecting data on the cloud. They tested the system with different air pressures, leakages and deteriorating patient conditions using an artificial pair of lungs. It was sophisticated enough to simulate scenarios that the original designers of the device never even considered.
Using a 3D printer, the team then prototyped a “splitter” to put into a ventilator. The splitter — a one-way tube that resembles the letter Y — “split” the ventilator’s air flow between two patients. But there was more to be done.
“The splitter proved successful, but it was still a ‘passive’ tool — air flowed equally through it to two people, but the amount of air flow could not be controlled,” said Elena Arvanitis, senior project manager at Siemens. “If the lung condition of one of the two patients deteriorated, the ventilator prescribed a volume of air, but the other patient could no longer receive the air they needed. Pressure built up, throwing the system out of balance.”
To fix this, the “Lungs in the Loop” team procured a valve that could open and close as needed. With more simulations, they verified that the valve could work efficiently even at the low pressures of breathing cycles. Now, a physician could manually alter the flow of air to each person.
Information from the testbed was constantly beamed back and forth to the cloud, so the team could monitor the performance of the system and model each component. It was able to process large amounts of data extremely quickly to identify a problem and take action.
But this story isn’t just about COVID.
It’s about what MxD makes possible — in a pandemic, a production shortage, a cyber attack or a national security threat. The ability to rapidly convene talent, test new ideas, and build nimbly is built into MxD’s DNA.
In the years since the pandemic, MxD has continued to serve as a platform for production innovation.
It convened one of the first industrial testbeds in the country to explore the application of 5G networks inside advanced manufacturing facilities. The project brought together leading experts to assess how 5G could improve data speed, machine connectivity, and flexibility on the shop floor.
As the Department of Defense works to modernize the Organic Industrial Base — the 23 government-owned sites that manufacture, repair and store military material — MxD is playing a pivotal role assessing these sites for digital readiness and drafting modernizations plans.
Most recently, MxD teamed up with Chicago’s quantum hub to host a landmark event on quantum technology’s role in manufacturing.
Researchers, technologists and industry leaders gathered on-site to explore how quantum computing could radically change the way America builds. The event featured real-world demos and clear-eyed discussion about what it will take to integrate quantum into factories.
“If you’re in a crisis, or just in a crunch, there is room on our floor to both experiment and work with our experts,” said Tony Del Sesto, a senior adviser at MxD, who worked on this project. “We’re committed to being nimble.”
And, in the end, the team demonstrated that a single ventilator can indeed safely sustain two patients at the same time. This was groundbreaking, and had never before been tested.
COVID-19 revealed what MxD can do in a moment of need — and showed why the U.S. needs a place like it for whatever comes next.
