Jaguar Land Rover to make protective visors for NHS
3D printers at Jaguar Land Rover’s prototype building facility in Gaydon will be used to produce protective visors for NHS workers
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is manufacturing protective visors for NHS workers at its prototype build facility in Gaydon, Warwickshire.
The company’s Advanced Product Creation Centre is home to one of Europe’s most advanced 3D printing facilities, which will be used initially to print 1,300 NHS-approved protective masks for key workers every week.
JLR is co-operating with a number of other companies on the project, such as the Telford-based rapid manufacturing firm Pro2Pro. The aim is to eventually ramp production up to the point where the facility is making 5,000 visors per week for NHS trusts across the UK.
Prototypes of the visors have already been trialled with teams at the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust. Production line assembly began on 31 March, with the finalised design taking into account feedback from the teams who used the prototypes.
The visors can be dismantled and cleaned, allowing them to be reused multiple times. It’s hoped the project will help deal with the shortage of personal protective equipment currently faced by the NHS.
Ben Wilson, additive manufacturing and prototype design manager at JLR, said: “It’s been a real team effort. We’ve trialled different materials and improved the design over several iterations in consultation with real doctors and nurses on the frontline – this has allowed us to create something unique and truly fit-for-purpose.
“While this is a small effort, it is vital we help as many people as we can by utilising our resources. Collaborative teams working at Jaguar Land Rover, along with the wider computer-aided design and 3D printing community, will continue to do what we can to help healthcare workers.”
Are you glad to see JLR helping the NHS in the coronavirus pandemic? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below...
