Seeing Is Believing!
Hi-tech products and instrumentation engineering specialists Vision Engineering innovate to ‘impossible’ timescales during the search for fasttrack therapeutic solutions during the first wave of COVID-19 in 2020.
The Qimtek platform was the catalyst for Oxford Optronix to brief Vision Engineering to support their clinical product development in 2020. Vision Engineering Manufacturing and Optical Services (VEMOS) has been members of Qimtek since March 2020, and have developed valuable relationships a wide variety of clients in a variety of sectors, but this project required unprecedented speed and responsiveness in stemming the tide of a deadly global pandemic.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure medical devices (cPAP) provide vital respiratory support by applying mild and continuous positive air (and oxygen) pressure to keep the airways open in patients who are able to breathe spontaneously; thereby helping them breathe and take up oxygen more easily.
The alternative is mechanical ventilation, which is intrusive and requires an intensive care bed. As such, cPAP played a vital role in the treatment of majority of patients, reducing demand for intensive care beds and allowing ventilators to be reserved for the most critically ill patients and helping the NHS deploy resources more efficiently.
VEMOS was selected through the Qimtek Advertising platform to answer the call to manufacture and deliver essential components for a project to deliver 2000 new oxygen flow monitors. The result is Flo-Ox™, a portable, pole-mountable, bedside oxygen concentration monitor for mechanical CPAP devices. The monitor was developed in response to an emergency COVID-19 call by the National Health Service (NHS) in just 8 days including regulatory compliance.
A temporary waiver was awarded by the UK MHRA for Flo-Ox™ being for patient use for the treatment of COVID-19. This was granted because VEMOS had proved they were close to completing ISO 13485 certification. Flexibility attributed to the state-of-theart machine shop enabled VEMOS to support this urgent requirement immediately.
From receipt of the purchase order Vision Engineering had prototyped the first units for review in 4 days, and immediately after approval were able to tool up and deliver the first 200 production units a week later. Given that this all occurred over Easter 2020, it presented a challenge the team rose to and met with enthusiasm.
Looking to the future, both Vision Engineering Manufacturing and Optical Services and Oxford Optronix are keen to keep working together, as well as continuing to use the Qimtek network for their respective business needs. In addition to this, VEMOS boasts a dedicated Vision Optics division, which enables customers to benefit from their expertise in quality optics – while at the same time benefiting from exceptional pricing.
The Surrey based engineering and manufacturing company provides modern milling, turning and grinding capabilities (including CNC) and multiple additive manufacturing systems, in both the UK and USA, connected by dedicated logistics.
A multi-purpose Paint Shop facility is capable of refinishing a wide variety of materials including Ferrous and Non-Ferrous metals along with plastics, paint processes including wet spray systems and powder-coating of any desired coating and colour.
The contract manufacturing and assembly services provide access to leading-edge technologies, including dust-free clean rooms, temperature controlled calibration and state-of-the-art QC where everything is traceable.
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Buyer from Eskan Electronics Ltd
Having used Qimtek's sourcing service for only a few months, I have already managed to find 3-4 quality long-term suppliers. I have a dedicated sourcing account manager who has saved me a lot of hassle by finding the right suppliers for me, generating quotes very quickly and saving me a few days' worth of work each time. Qimtek were even able to accommodate a non-disclosure agreement on a sensitive project of mine. I simply requested to have the NDA in place and my sourcing account manager took care of the rest, ensuring that the agreement had been signed before drawings were released to individual suppliers and collating the signed documents on my behalf. The process really couldn't have been easier and it was all completely free of charge.I would definitely recommend Qimtek to any buyers who are looking to save time when sourcing new suppliers.
Purchaser from JP Exhausts
I have used Qimtek sourcing service several times, using a Non Disclosure Agreement and I must say, it works very effectively and does the job on sensitive projects. It saves us a lot of time as Qimtek collect the signed NDA's before releasing the drawings to potential suppliers to quote. I'm pleased with the responses coming back, and will be awarding my projects to Qimteks Supplier Members. I would highly recommend using Qimtek sourcing service with or without the nda, it's been successful everytime
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Being on the Qimtek Supplier List provides an excellent, cost effective way to generate new business opportunities. Since subscribing to Qimtek we have successfully secured over £200,000 of new business. We see a lot of potential for long term relationships from our new customers. The RFQ information is very easy to access and their Customer Care Managers are very professional and very helpful.
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Having utilised the Qimtek service to quote varying projects during difficult times in early 2020, EFS Ltd made the strategic decision to invest in and grow its sub-contract sheet metal service. The results of which led to capital investment in new laser and punch machinery to support its already well-established infrastructure from its 50,000 sq ft site in Somerset, along with the acquisition of a Business Development Manager.
Contracts Engineering Ltd
Contracts Engineering became Qimtek members in the middle of COVID and the national lockdown. "Their onboarding was smooth and quick, and we have won a couple new customers already. Qimtek has been a huge help for us winning more work during such a challenging time! In less than 4 months’ service we have already won enough orders to cover the annual investment." Here is a nice case study about how Contracts Engineering can help manufacture your products.