Jaguar Land Rover increases the scale of production for face shields to fight Covid-19
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced it will scale up production for face shields and protective devices currently being used by healthcare workers in the frontline battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. The automaker hopes to now produce 14,000 face shields each week to help the National Health Service department in the UK.
Earlier, JLR was making 3D-printed face visors from its advanced production centre in Gaydon that houses one of the most advanced 3D printing facilities in the whole of Europe. Those visors were shipped to the NHS but demand for them has increased drastically due to the crisis not abating.
Jaguar Land Rover has taken note of this and now implemented its injecting moulding tooling system to increase the scale of production to 2000 units a day. One of the interesting stats is that one polypropylene headband needed to make the face shield can be produced in just 30 seconds.
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 key workers. 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.”
Jaguar Land Rover has also released the CAD models required to manufacture this series in a hope that other businesses and manufacturing units to have such capabilities will join in the effort to produce this personal protection equipment.
These face shields have been specially designed so that they can be reused or dismantled and cleaned before using again to avoid shortages in the future. Jaguar Land Rover is working quite closely with the UK government to offer its research and development expertise in many ways and means that it can help with this crisis.