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I wonder how hard it would be to make CAD models of the parts for these machines, to allow them to be made on a CNC mill or the like. They're not particularly c

• iancmceachern 9y ago
  Not very, I do it all day. As with anything its all about justifying the time and cost. If I were to do such a thing I would rather put the weeks or months of effort toward designing a new, better device with the benefit of what we know now, not copying what came before.
  • snotrockets 9y ago
    And that new devices would break in new ways. Good thing about old devices, is that we gathered enough knowledge to know how to fix them. Considering the amount of iron lunges still in use, it would probably be more cost effective to keep fixing the ones already in use, until all the current patients die.
  • SAI_Peregrinus 9y ago
    Physically making a CAD model would be easy, yes. The "hard" part I was considering was the need to get spare parts to make the models from, as if the machine is in use it's a very bad idea to take it apart unnecessarily. And most of the surviving machines are in use. So measuring the old parts would be a bit of a challenge. Also the new, "better" device is a cuirass negative pressure ventillator, but those apparently have the disadvantage of being far less comfortable for long-term use than an iron lung (though much more portable).