WHITLEY (UK):
Jaguar Land Rover is scaling up production of its protective face visors in a continued effort to support the fight against Coronavirus. New tooling, developed by WHS Plastics, will produce a further 14 000 visors each week for key workers across the UK.
Earlier this month, the carmaker announced the manufacture of 3D-printed face visors at its Advanced Product Creation Centre in Gaydon, home to one of the most advanced 3D-printing facilities in Europe. Visors have been produced and shipped to NHS Trusts across the UK, including the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust.
Now, using injection mould tooling supplied by WHS Plastics of Sutton Coldfield, the operation will produce in excess of 2 000 per day – with one polypropylene headband generated every 30 s.
Following the success of its 3D-printing efforts, Jaguar Land Rover is also releasing its NHS-approved CAD design in the hope that businesses with Additive Manufacturing facilities will join the global call for more Personal Protection Equipment (PPE); the ready-to-print files can be downloaded here.
Ben Wilson, Jaguar Land Rover Additive Manufacturing and Prototype Design Manager, said: “We hope that by providing the files for download, many more companies will be inspired to use their 3D-printing facilities to print vital PPE equipment for our keyworkers.
“Every effort, however small it may seem, is a contribution to a collective effort that will ensure our emergency services have what they need to continue their vital work.”
Each face visor has been designed to be reusable and can be easily dismantled and cleaned before being used again, safeguarding NHS trusts against future shortages.
Paul Nicholson, Group Managing Director for WHS Plastics Ltd, said: “Each and every day, our NHS heroes are risking their lives to ensure that those affected by Coronavirus receive urgent medical attention. In manufacturing, we are uniquely placed to support our essential services, to help deliver critical equipment to those on the frontline here in the Midlands. It’s a small effort, but by working with Jaguar Land Rover we can help turn the tide.”
Jaguar Land Rover continues to work closely with the UK government and has offered its research and engineering expertise, as well as digital engineering and design, printing of 3D models and prototypes, machine learning, artificial intelligence and data science support.
