Lab tests show effectiveness of Australian 3D printed copper invention against COVID-19

Australian technology company SPEE3D has released news of lab tests showing the effectiveness of their copper 3D printed coating against Covid-19.

The company makes manufacturing cells for cold spray deposition to rapidly create parts out of metal powders. It has developed new algorithms to coat existing metal parts – such as doorknobs and touch plates – with antimicrobial copper. Handles can be coated within five minutes using the technique.

Lab tests by NATA-accredited 360Biolabs examined the effectiveness of this coating, which SPEE3D has branded ACTIVAT3D, in “contact killing” the SARS-CoV-2 (“severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2,” the virus that causes Covid-19.)

According to a statement from the Australian printer company, tests found 96 per cent effectiveness after two hours and 99.2 per cent after five hours. The virus can survive on stainless steel or plastic surfaces for up to three days.

“The lab results show ACTIVAT3D copper surfaces behave much better than traditional stainless, which may offer a promising solution to a global problem,” said SPEE3D co-founder and CEO Byron Kennedy.

“The technology can be used globally addressing local requirements, be they in hospitals, schools, on ships or shopping centres.”

Print files were shared with the company’s partners and “copper fixtures were installed in buildings at Charles
Darwin University (CDU) in Darwin, Swinburne University in Melbourne, the University of Delaware in the USA and in Japan.”

Images: SPEE3D

Subscribe to our free @AuManufacturing newsletter here.