Manufacturers collaborate to produce new ‘reusable’ visors for frontline staff

The Manufacturing Assembly Network, which employs over 2000 people across 21 factories, has invested more than £30,000 into the design and manufacture of the manKIND Visor, an easy to assemble and reusable visor that is more comfortable than the current options available.

Guided with expertise from the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), the collective took six weeks from initial concept and prototyping to create a bespoke tool at Barkley Plastics able to produce 500,000 units every year.

The first 20,000 are being donated to charitable causes, with South Warwickshire NHS Trust, New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton, Support Staffordshire and the Pen Museum in Birmingham some of the first recipients to benefit.

In addition, the visor will then be sold directly to healthcare organisations, schools, retailers and businesses looking to safely return to work.

Central to the success of the manKIND visor was the development of the mould tool and this challenge was taken up by Birmingham-based Barkley Plastics.

It took 5 toolmakers, including a young engineer who had just completed his apprenticeship, three weeks to come up with a solution, with the most intricate part being the area that makes the adjustable strap.

The final tool will last for millions of parts and can produce between 8,000 and 12,000 units per week.

With nearly all 20,000 donated items ready for dispatch, Grove Design and pressings specialist Brandauer are now taking the manKIND visor commercial and making it available to NHS Trusts, the healthcare sector, retailers, leisure and manufacturers who can’t socially distance.

“We initially started 3D printing and distributing a few visors to help the NHS, but quickly realised we needed a more robust production method to keep up with demand,” explained Austin Owens, Founder of Grove Design and the driving force behind the project.

“This is when we approached other members in the MAN Group to look at options and came up with the plan to design and develop our own version, tapping into Barkley Plastics’ toolmaking and moulding expertise and the collective’s supply chain capability for sourcing the right materials and distribution.”

Rachel Williams, Associate Director of Operations, added: “It is very humbling to see how local organisations have come together to help the NHS at this difficult time.”